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IN   8EAKCH   OF 


SIE  JCteN  FEANKLIN. 


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ELISHA  KENT  KANE,   M.D.,   U.  S.  K. 


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PHILADELPHIA : 
CHILDS  &  PETERSON,   124,  AECH  ST. 

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HENRY   GRFNNELL, 


THE  AUTHOR,  AND  ADVOCATE,  ANd/paTRON  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES' 
V  EXPEDITION  IN  SEARCff  OF  SIR  JOHN  FRANKLIN, 


ifl  Unta.  ia  ^luimlali. 


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NOTE. 


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It  may  apologize,  perhapJ7V*sofije  imperfections 
in  this  book,  to  mention,  that  tliff  greater  portion  of  it 
has  gone  through  the  press  without  the  author's  re- 
visal.  While  he  was  engaged  in  preparing  it,  the  lib- 
erality  of  Mr.  Grinnell,  of  New  York,  and  Mr.  Peabody, 
of  London,  enabled  him  to  set  on  foot  a  second  Polar 
Expedition,  which  sailed  under  his  command  on  the 
31st  of  May  last.  It  was  his  purpose  lJ|^odel  some 
of  the  chapters,  and  to  add  one  or  tw?li°  collateral 
topics,  if  his  time  had  not  been  engrossed  by  the  prep, 
arations  for  his  departure. 

July,  1853. 


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A  SKETCH 


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or  TDK 


LIFE  OF-  SIR  JOHN  FRANKLIN. 


From  "Allibon^a  Dictionary  of  Literature  and  Authors." 


I  Sib  John  Franklin,  an  eminent  navigator,  bom  1786,  at  Spilsby, 
Lincolnshire,  entered  tlie  Royal  ifavyaa  a  midshipman  in  1800,  was 
present  at  the  battle  of  Trafalgar  in  1806  and  the  battle  of  New  Orleans 
in  1814,  and  was  selected  io  1819  to  head  an  expedition  overland  from 
Hudson's  Bay  to  tltf  Arctic  Ocean.  After  "encountering-  great  hard- 
ships, and  very  freqriently  at  the  point  of  Meath  from  hunger  and 
fatigue,  he  reached  home  in  October,  1822„  In  the  next  year  ke  was 
married  to  MimPorden.  In  1825  he  submiitiBd  to  Lord  Bathurst  "a 
plan  for  an  olPption  overland,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Mackenzie  River," 
and  thence  by  tfea,  to  the  northwest  extremity  of  America,  with  the 
combined  object  also  of  surveying  the  coast  between  the  Mackeiiae 
and  Copper  Mine  Rivers." 

This  proposition  was  accepted;  and,  to  superintend  the  expedition, 
he  embarked  at  Liverpool,  February  16,  1825,  after  the  "severe 
struggle  of  taking  leave  of  his  wife,  whose  death,  then  hourly  ex- 
pected, took  place  six  days  after  his  departure.'* 

After  encounteri;ig  great  hardships,  the  moving  masses  of  ice  forced 

the  heroidWilors  to  retrace  their  steps.     September  1, 1827,  Captain 

Franklin  arrived  at  Liverpool,  married  a  second  time  tn  November  of 

the  following  year,  and  in  18JJ9  received  the  honor  of  knighthood. 

.r  The  prae'roring  seal  of  Lady  Franklin  in  stimulating  flie  searcli  for 


N 


TU 


1 


» 


Tin 


LIFi;    OF    silt    JOHN    frankTlin. 


I 


'.     Il 


Sir  John,  for  tcti  years  past,  is  wcil^  known  to  the  World.  He  was 
greatly  disappointed  at  his  unsuccessfiil  attempts  to  accdniplish  the 
object  of  his  voyages;  remarking,  with  reference  to  his  compulsory 
return  in  1827  : —     ^       '  .. 

"It  was. with  no  ordinarypnin  that  I  could  now  bring  myself  even  ' 
to- think  of  relinquishing  the  groat  object  of  my  ambition,  "[the  dis- 
covery of  a  northwest  passage  from  the  Atlantiq  to  the  Paci6c'0cean,] 
and  of  disappointing  tho.flattcHng  hopes  which  had  been  reposed  in 
my  exertions.  But  I  had  higlier  duties  to  perform  than  ^tho  gratificS- 
tiod  of  my' own  feelings;  and  a  mature^onsideration  of  all  things 
forced  me  to  the  conclusion  that  we  had  reached  that  point  beyoqd 
which  perseverance  would  be  rashness  »nd  the  best  efforts  would  be 
fruitless."         •  -  ^ 

The  Montreal  Gazette  of  September  11,  1822,  remarks:— 
"It  appears  that  the  toils  and  sufferings  of  the  expedition  have  been 
of  the  most  trying  description,  apd  that,  if  they  do  not  exceed  belief, 
they  were  at  least  of  such  a  nature  as  almost  to  overcome  the  stoutest 
heart,  and  deter  all  future  attempts  of  a  similar  tendency." 
.  But  this  writer  little  knew  the  iron  stuff  of  which  Sfr  John  Franklin 
was  made.  ■• 

On  the  26th  of  May,  1845,  Sir  John  started  upon  a  third  expedi- 
.  tion,  in  two  ships,  the  Erebus  and  Terror;  he  was  heard  from  on  .the 
26th  of  July  of  the  same  year,  and  passed  his  fi^t  winter  in  a  cove' 
between  Cape  Riley  and  Beechy  Island.      Since  thar  period,  many 
expeditions  frt)to  England  and  America  have  been  despatched  in  search 
of  the  adventurer;  but  it  was  not  until  November,  1854,  that  news   . 
reached  Englaild,  which  le&ves  little  doubt  that  the  whole  party  perished 
in  the  winter  of  1850-51.     See  London  Gentleman's  Magazine,  No- 
vember,  1854,  749;  December,  1854,  594-95.    Since  the  above  was' ' 
written,  we  have  farthei-  intelligence,— by  the  return  of  Mr.  James  G. 
Stuart's  expedition,  despatched  by  the  British  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
18th  November,  1854;  arrived  at  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  Wth  December,' 
1855,— which  places  beyond  all  doubt  the  loss  of  Sir  John  Franklin 
and  his  party.     Some  of  their  shoes,  cooking-utensils,  &c.  were  foui^ 
amofl^thfl  Esquimaux,  who  declared  that  they  had  di^  of  starvaliop;— 


J 


» 


LIFE     (TF     SIR     JOHN     FRANKLIN. 


II 


ohn  Franklin 


J 


/ 


By  a  curious  coincidence,  on  the  da^  tWat  wo  are  penning  this  article," 
(October  II,  1855,)  the  last  expedition — Hcnt  specially  in  search -of 
Dr.  Kane  and  his  party — which  sailed  from  N"cw  York  in  Juno,  1855, 
has  arrived  at  home.  The  explorers  bring  with  them  Dr.  Kane  and  all , ' 
of  his  ootnpany  save  three, — a  carpenter^  a  cook,  and  a  seaman,  lost  by 
death.  The  renumlJcr  of  tlio  party  are  nj^oro  or  less  fropt-bitten.  Of 
the  last  exjjeditiorfi— the  steamer  (propeller)  Arfctie-,  Lieutenant  Simms, 
and  the  barque  Relpatie,  Lieutenant  Hartstene^— the  Arctic  (Lieutenant 
Hart8teno.iWa8  on  board)  made  its  way  flbrth  to  latitude  78°  32',  when 
it  was  stopped  by  the  ic(5.  The  Advance,.  Dr.  Kane's  vessel,  had  been 
puslttSd  as  far  north  as  possible,  when  she  wda  frozen  in,  and  of  course 
had  to  be  abandoned.  The  ship's  company  were  found  by  thJmctio 
and  Release  on  the  island  of  Disco.  They  have  been  absent  from  homo 
since  May  31, 1853,  and  are  received  with  great  rejoicings.  They  have  ^ 
made  several  important  discoveries,  and  added  largely  to  our  knowledge 
of  the  inhospitable  region  the  perils  and  discomforts  .of  w&ich  they 
have  so  tiravely  encountered.  ^  .       "' 

'*  **  #-  »  « 

The  reader-who  desires  to  pursue  this  interesting  to(pic  must  refer  to 
the  following  publications  '•-:A.  Captain  John  Franklin's  Narrative  of 
a  Journey  to  the  Shores  of  the  Polar  Sck,  1 819-22,  with  an  'Appendix 
on  wrioua  Subjects  relating  to  Science  and  Natural  Histor^,  London, 
1823,  4to,  pp.  784;  34  Plates  and  four  >%s,  £4  4«.  The  Appendix  . 
on  Natural  History  is  by  Sir  John  Richardson,  Sabine)  Lieutenant  Hood, 
&c.  The  plates  are  beautifiilly  engraved  by  Finden  (some  of  them 
colored)  -after  drawings  by  Lieutenants  Hood  and  Bjick.  A  second 
and  third  edition  were  published  in  1824,  both  in  2  vols.  8vo,  without 
the  plates.  '  «•  '  . 

Also  an.edi^on  in  PJiiladelphia,  8vo,  same  year.         ' 

"  The  unstudied  and  seamanlike  sim|flicity  of  the  styloTs  not  the 
least  of  its  merits;  and  the  illnstratipns  and  embellishments,  from  the 
drawings  of  the  late  unfortunate  Mr.  Hood,  and  Mr.  Back,  are  of  a  very 
superior  kind." — London  Quarterly  Review.  "     , 

"  A  work  of  intense  and  in^gfid  painful  interest,  from  the  sufferings 
of  thcee  who  performed  this  jourrn^  of  value  to  geography  by  no 


M. 


^"'>. 


^  LIFE     OF     SIR     JOHN     FRANKLIN. 

means  proportional  to  these  sufferings;  but  inst^ctive  in  meteorology 
and  natural  history. "-Stevenson',  Voyages  and  Travels. 

2.  Captain  John  Franklin's  Narrative-of  a  Second  Expeditibn  to  the 
Shores  of  the  Polar  Sea,  1825-27;  including  an  Ace^of  the  Pro- 
gress  of  a  Detachn>ent  to  the  Eastward,  by  John  Richardson,  M.D., 
a  .R.S,  &c.  Surgeon  ani  Naturalist  to  the  Expedition.     Illustrated  by 
•        numerous  Maps  and  Plates,  1828,  4to,  pp.  447.  £i  4,.     The  Second 
Expedition  has  not  in  England  been  published  in  §vo,  but  see  beW 
'     ♦'The  views  of  Arctic  Scftnery  with  which  this  volume  is  both  illus- 
trated and  embellished  are  ofVtreme  beauty.     They  supply,  in  a  great 
measure,  the  absence  of  picturesque  description,  and  delineate,  with 
lingular  truth,  the  striking  peculiarities  which  distinguish  the  aspect 
of  these  regions  from  that  of  the  temperate  olnn.tes."~£din.  Review  ' 
It  IS  difficult  to  do  sufficient  justice  either  to  the  skUl  and  intelli- 
gence  displayed  in  its  conduct,  or  the  information  to  be  derived  from 
It.  — American  Quarterly  Review. 

There  is  an  edition  published  in  1829,  London,  4  vols.  18mo,  of  Sir 
John  Franklin's  Two  Journeys  to  the  Shores  of  the  Polar  Sea,  in 
1819-27,  with  engravings  by  Finden,  £X.  An  edition  of  the  second 
expedition  was  published  in  Philadelphia,  1828,  8vo. 

The  reader  must  also  peruse-1,.  Mr.  P.  L.  Simmonds's  account  of 
Sir  John  FTBuklin  and  the  Arctic  Eegions,  1851, 12mo;  2d  ed.,  1852, 
12mo;  3d  ed.,  1853,  12mo.     2.  Papers  and  Correspondence  rdative 
to  the  Arctic  Expedition  under  Sir  John  Franklin.     Ordered  by  the 
i    House  of  Commons  to  be  printed,  March  5,'  1850-52,  fol.     3    The 
Frankhn  Expedition,  or  Considerations  on  Measures  for  the  Discovery 
and  Relief  of  our  Absent  Adventurera  in  the  Arctic  Regions;  with 
Maps,  by  the  Rev.  W.  Scoresby,  D.D.,  1850.     4.  Arctic  Searching  Ex- 
pedition:  a  Journal  pf  a  Boat  Voyage  through  Rupert's  Land  and  the 
Arctic  Sea  in  Search  of  the  Discovery  Ships  under  Command  of  Sir 
John  Frankhn;  with  an  Appendix  on  the  Physical  Geography  of  North 
America.     By  Sir  John  Richardson,  M.D.,  F.R,S.,  &c..  Inspector  of 
Hospitals  and  Fleets.   Published  by  Authority  of  ((he  Admiralty.   With 
a  eolored.Map,  several  Platoa  printed  in  Colo»,  .fid  Woodcuts,  2  vols 


^^'^) 


LIFE     OF     SIR     JOHN     FRANKLIN. 


XI 


"Valuable  alike  to  the  scientific  studenjt  ok  the  future  wanderer  over 
these  wild  plains,  and  the  lonely  settler  whom  European  enterprise  may 
locate  among  these  far^distant  tribes.  It  is  a  book  to  study  rather'thwi 
to  read;  and  yet  so  attractive  in  its  style,  and  so  instructive  in  its  col- 
lation of  facte,  that  many  wiU  be  led  to  its  study  as  a  work  of  science 
whilst  merely  engaged  in  ite  perusal  aa  a  book  of  travels."— 5ri«a«to. 

5.  A  Lecture  on  Arctic  Expeditions,  delivered  at  the  London  Insti- 
tution,  by  C.  R.  Weld,  Esq.    Second  edition.  Map,  j^st  8vo. 

"An  intelligent  general  view  of  the  subject  of  Arctic  Discovery  from 
early  times,  a  rapid  b^ll-informed  sketch  of  i<^  heroes  and  its  vicis- 
situdes in.  modem  daySfa  hopeful  view  of  the  chances  of  Franklin's 
return,  and  an  account  of  the  circumstances  of  the  original  expedition 
and  of  the  voyages  ia  search,  which  will  be  read  with '  considerable 
interest  just  now." — London  Examiner. 

6.  Article  entitled  Attempte  to  find  a  Northwest  Passage,  in  North 
American  Review,  Ixix.  1;  and  the  following  articles  on  Sir  John 
Franklin  and  the  Arctic  Regions :  7.  Nort;h  American  Review,  Ixxi 
168.     8.  New  York  Eclectic  Magazine,  xx.  60!    9, 10.  Boston  Living 
Age,  (from  the  London  Examiner,)  xxiv.  275  and  279.    Search  for 
Sir  John  Franklin.     11.  Fraser's  Magazine,  xliii.  198;  same  article, 
New  York  Eclectic  Magazine,  xxii.  420.     12.  Fraser's  Magazine,  xliv. 
502.     13.  Boston  Living  Age,  (from  the  London  New  Monthly  Maga- 
zine,) xxxi.  291.    Second  Expedition  of  Sir  John  Franklin;    14.  Lon- 
don Quarterly  Review,  xxxviii.  335.    15, 16.  London  Monthly  Review, 
cii.  1,  156;  17.  South  Review,  iu.  261.    Track  of  Sir  John  FrankUn. 
18.  New  York  Eclectic  Magazine,- xxii.  112.     Also,  19.  Meares,  J., 
Voyages  made  in  1788-89  from  China  to  the  Northwest  Coast  of 
America;  with  Observations  on  the  Existence  of  a  Northwest  Pas- 
sage, ,&c.,  maps  and  plates,  1790,  4to. 

To  the  above  must  be  added— 20.  Dr.  Elisha  Kent  Kane's  Narrative 
of  the  Expediti(jn  in  seareh  of  Sir  John  Franklin,  New  York,  1854, 
8vo,  the  Voyages  of  Beechy,  Pany  and  R«ss,  Back's  Arctic  Expedi- 
tion,  Sabine's  North  Georgia  Gazette,  1821, 4to,  and  A  Souvenir  of  the 
late  Polar  Search^iy  the  Officers  and  Seamen  of  the  Expedition,  185% 


0 


^'W 


/ 


8vo 


Nor  must  the  Hiatorioal  Accounts  and  numerous  essays  of  Sir 


xii  LIFE     OF     SIR     JOHN     FRANKLIN. 

John  Barrow  upon  this  subject  be  overlooked  by  the  reader.  We  are 
promised  another  work  from  Dr.  Kane,  who,  as  mentioned  above,  has 
returned  this  day  from  a  fruitless  search  after  Sir  John  Franklin. 
Upon  the  subject  of  a  Northwest  Passage  we  append  an  interesting 
paper : — 

"THE  EFFORTS  MADE  TO  DISCOVER  A  NORTHWEST  PASSAGE. 
"The  attempt  to  discover  a  northwest  passage  wa«  made  by  a  Portuguese 
named  Cortereal,  about  a.d.  1500.  It  was  attempted  by  the  English  in  1553- 
and  the  project  was  greatly  encouraged  by  Queen  Elizabeth  in  1386,  in  which 
year  a  company  was  associated  in  London,  and  was  called  the  'Fellowship  for 
the  Discovery  of  the  Northwest  Passage.'  The  following  voyages  with  this 
design  were  undertaken,  under  British  and  American  navigators,  in  the  years 
respectively  stated : —  07., 

Sir  Hugh  WiUoughby's  expedition  to  find  a  northwest  passage  to  China 

«,-'m'^/T*J'.'''""°*' May  20,  1563 

Sir  Martin  Frobisher's  attempt  to  find  a  northwest  passage  to  China 1576 

Captain  Davis's  expedition  tp  find  a  northwest  passage 1585 

Barentz's  expedition .-„. 

Weymouth  and  Knight's " j„„„ 

Hudson's  voyages ;  the  last  undertaken... !...".!!".....'  1610 

Sir  Thomas  Button's ,„.-, 

Baffin's ,„,- 

„      ,  ...     1616 

Foxe's  expedition 

(A  number  of  enterprises,  undertaken  by  various  countries,  followed  ') 

Middleton's  expedition ,„.„ 

Moore  and  Smith's !...".....      1740 

Heame's  land  expedition ._„„ 

Captain  Phipps,  afterwards  Lord  Mulgrave,  his  expedition......."....."."."!"  1773 

Captain  Cook,  in  the  Resolution  and  Discovery j^Z'  j-yg 

Mackenzie's  expedition ^»„ 

Captain  Duncan's  voyage ,_.- 

The  Discovery,  Captain  Vancouver,  returned  from  a  voyage  of  sui-vey  "and 

discovery  on  the  northwest  coast  of  America gept  24    1795 

Lieutenant  Kotiebue's  expedition Qct'  1815 

Captain  Buchan  and  Lieutenant  Franklin's  expedition  in  ihe  Dorothea  and 

Trent 

■ ,  1818 

Captain  Ross  and  Lieutenant  Parry,  in  the  Isabella  and  Alexander..". 1818 

Lieutenants  Parry  and  Liddon,  in  the  Hecla  and  Griper. Mav  4    1819 

They  return  to  Leith v       o    ,on^ 

„    '  .     „  ,  ,        Nov.  8,  1820 

Captains  Parry  and  Lyon,  in  the  Fury  and  Hecla May  8    1821 

Captain  Parry's  third  expedition  with  the  Hecla May  8*  1824 

Captains  Franklin  and  Lyon,  after  having  attempted  a  land  expedition' 

again  sail  from  Liverpool p^^  ,535 

Captain  Parry,  again  m  the  Hecla,  sails  from  Deptford March  25.  1827 

Oct  6,  1827 


LIFE     OF     SIR     JOHN     FRANKLIN.  xiii 

Captain  John  Ross  arrived  at  Hull,  on  hia  return  from  his  Arctic  expedi-    ,. 
lion,  after  an  absence  of  four  years,  and  when  all  hope  of  his  return  /^ 
had  been  nearly  abandoned Qg^  jg  /igaa 

Captain  Back  and  his  companions  arrived  at  Liwsrpool  from  their  perilous 
Arctic  land  expedition,  after  having  visited  the  Great  Fish  River,  and 
examined  its  course  to  the  Polar  Seas gept.  8    1835 

Captain  Back  sailed  from  Chatham  in  command  of  His  Majesty's  ship 
Terror,  on  an  exploring  adventure  to  Wager  River.  Captain  Back,  in 
the  month  of  December,  1835,  was  awarded,  by.the  Geographical  So- 
ciety, tie  King's  annual  premium  for  his  polar  discoveries  and  enter- 
prise......  t June  21,  1886 

Dease  and  Simpson  traverse  the  intervening  apace  between  the  discoveries 
of  Ross  and  the  Castor  and  Pollux  River Oct.  1889 

Sir  John  Franklin  and  Captain  Crozier,  in  the  Erebus  and  Tewor  leave 

^^"8'"^ •" May  24,  1845 

Captain  James  Ross  returned  from  an  unsuccessful  expedition  in  search 

of  Franklin ; -„._ 

.       ,  1849 

Another  expedition  (one  sent  out  by  Lady  Franklin)  in  search  of  Sir  John 
Franklin,  consisting  of  two  vessels,  sailed  from  England April-May,  1850 

Another,  under  Captain  M'Clure,  who  succeeded  in  Tweeting  a  transit  over 
ice  from  ocean  to  ocean;  and  another  under  Sir  Edward  Belcher 1861 

Another,  consisting  of  two  vessels,  the  Advance  and  Rescue,  Uberally 
purchased  for  the  purpose  by  Henry  Grinnell,  a  New  York  merchant, 
and  manned  at  government  cost  from  the  United  States  navy,  under 
command  of  Lieutenant  De  Haven,  sailed  from  New  York '..May    1850 

The  expedition  of  Dr.  Kane,  in  the  Advance.  Kane  discovered  the  open 
Polar  Sea,  in  latitude  82o  30' N May  31    1853 

The  last  expedition,  consisting  of  the  Release  and  Arctici"^der  Lieu- 
tenant Hartstene,  sailed j^^^^  jggg 

He  reached  the  highest  north  latitude  next  to  Kane,  and  retum8...0ct.  11,  1855 

"There  may  be  some  omissions  in  the  above,  but  it  will  be  found  eenerallv 
correct."  ' 


< 


CONTENTS. 


hi 


CHAPTER  I. 

I»TKODucT0Rv.-The  Atctic  Sea.- Sir  John  Franklin.- Lady  Franklin's''''"' 
Appeal.-Orgam2ation  of  the  American  GrinneU  Expedition 13 

CHAPTER  n. 

Preparations  for  Departure.-Tlie  Advance  and  Rescue.-Equipments - 
Officers  and  Crew ...  -i    r  • 


CHAPTER  HI. 

Departure  from  New  York.-Creature  Comforts—First  Iceberg -Off  St 
, John  8 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Davis's  Straits.-Counter-drift._Beginning  of  Arctic  Day.-Fogs -Tlie 
Sukkertoppen 

CHAPTER  V. 

male-fish  Islands.- Disco. -Tl.e  Emma  Eugenia. ^ Kayacks. _ Tl.'^ 
Landing.— Esquimaux  Huts 

CHAPTER  VL 

Boat  Party  to  Lievely.-Royal  Inspectorate—Purchase  of  Furs -Floral 
and  geological  Character.- Field  Ice 

CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Middle  Ice-The  North  AVater-Omenak's  Fiord.-Interior  Water 
Connection  between  Coasts  of  Greenland 


CHAPTER  VIIL 

Formation  of  Icebergs— Debacle  from  Glacier.- Mr.  Grund, 
and  Structure  of  Berg  Ice 


17 


24 


29 


35 


43 


50 


aiiz. — Color  - 


66 


CHAPTER  IX. 


Svartehuk.— Refraction 


CHAFFER  X. 


Jumpiflg^ff  Plac«.^Hone8ty  of  KayackeT8.-P«r  in  "the  Pack;"-It," 
Elements  and  Form 


7b 


■  *1hri« *-»#''■!*  ■*?  ■*•*»•■  *-s«i*M«.., 


^1 
i 


4 

xvi  X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XI. 
Navigation  of  the  Pack. — Conning  Ship.— Heave!— iWarp!—^Track!— Haul'  'iS 

CHAPTER  X]U 

Devil's  Thumb. — Seals.— Birds.— Boring  the  Pack.— A  Beiir  Hunt.— Fast ! 
— Planting  Ice-anchors / .^ 86 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  Ice.— Snow-covered. — W^ter-sodden.—  Honey-cOmbed.  —  Tough.— 
Red  Ice.— Currents.— Under  Current's.-^Effects  of  ./. 96 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
Melville  Bay. — Glaciers.— Race  with  an  Iceberg. — Berg  splitting loo 

'.         CHAPTER  XV.      / 

Opposite  Duneira  Bay.— Glaciers —Height  of  Bergs.— Decepgons  of  Fog. 
— Formation  and  Forms  of  Bergs. — Birds  ...  //...  107 

^'  I  ' ^• 

^  CHAPTER  XVt 

Bear  Hunt.— "Warm  Fog.— Hummocking  — A  Pinch.— Crustacea  and  Birds  1 18 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Refraction. — The  Arctic  Cuisine. — Glaciers. ^Advantages  of  Steamers.— 
Esquimaux. — Frozen  Families  near  Cape  York 128 

CHAPTER  XVni. 

The  Crimson  Cliffs  of  Beverly. — Be^ssie's  Cove. — G^cier  Formation. 

Red  Snow. — Atmospheric  Transfers ic4 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Arctic  Highlands.— Florula.— Moss  Beds.- Auks'  Nests.— Trapping  Auks. 
— A  Black  Fox. — "  Good-by  to  Baffin."— Continuous  Dayhght \\\ 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Entering  Lancaster  Sound.— Penny's  Squadron.— Sir  John  Ross  and  the 
Felix— The  Prince  Albert.— Cape  Riley.— Traces  of  Sir  John  Franklin : 
his  Encampment ^  151 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Visit  to  the  Encampment. — Beechy  Island.- Discovery  of  the  Graves. 

Description  of  them. — Conclusions :  and  Conjecture  as  to  Franklin's 
Course Ul  . 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

United  Searching  Squadrons.- Visits.- Ice  drifting.— My  first  Bear.— Bar- 
„  low's  Inlet. — Cornwallis  Island. — Hummocks  and  Break-up.— Cold  jn^^^ 
creasing.— Rendezvous  of  Unign  Bay no 


'^-tP*"'*'-*!* 


■■•'■»«-.*-»<*r*'*"^i!^**f"*e*. 


«' 


CONTENTS. 


XTII 


CHAPTER  XXIII. -  ; 

Wellington  Channel.-AGale.-ExciHngNavigatio„.-Order8  for  Return  ^'" 
llpalt""  """"^'^ -"'-'— I-  thickening. J-Caught  in  the L  - 

--•-(- V-.  181 

CHAPTER  XXIV.  /' 

M-elli„gton  Channel-Drift  Northvard.-Discoveries.-Grinnell  Land...  191' 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


(Jrinnell  Land.— Discussion  of  Priority  of  Discover)- 


/ 


2U0' 


\  CHAPTER  XXVI. 
In  the  Ice  of  Wellington  Channel— An  Ice  Battle      r£,i»  » 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 


SIO 


CHAPTER  XXv/l. 


219 


-  .........i^.. — i^iiori  lo  coi 

-Vessels.  — Spontaneous   Combustion.  —  Shore    inapr.,.«,M»        ,      , 

^^r"  *■-"■'-'  ^-— ~;ii-^^^^^^^ 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 


Drifting  about  Outlet  of  Channel  — FfTnrt  f a  „^ 

\r ,_       „  '^"'"inei— tnort  X6  communicate  with  British 

re    inaccessible.  — 

cnts. — Leopold's  Is 

CHAPTER  XXfjC 
The^Cold-Frozen  Stores.-Ices.-A  Wallc.aFree^mg  to  Death-Cos- 


227 


239 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 
Continued  Drift.-Off  Croker's  Bay.-Pale  Facei    Ti.„  «  w  r, 

Darknes8.-Christmas.  Theatre,  and  Gms.-Se;;^^^  T^t  "Tp  """ 
ress  of  returning  Light ...^..   /       scurvy.— Traces  and  Prog. 

CHAPTER  XXXIL;  ,^ 
Continued  Drift.-NeV  Year.-Walks  renewed.l-Eightb  of  Jan 
Near  Cape  Osbom-Approaching  Baffin's  Bay.SmToul'of 
^^^--CriUeaJ  Situation  of  the  Vessels  ^^  "t^vMimoiiQQ  oi 


257 


\ 


V' 


\ 


y 

♦ . 


\ 


yl 


XT1|1 


CONTENTS. 


I*  X 


CHAPTER  XXXIir.  ' 

Continued  Drift. _ Preparation  for  Contingencies. -Results  of  intenso  ""■*• 
I  ressure.-Insi<le.j)f  Baffin's  Day. -Effects  of  Darkness.-Icc  Masses  - 
Weclmmg  Health  of  Crews.-.Vora/e  of  Officers  and  Men.-Approacl;  of 
i>ay._  Sunrise,  Noon,   and   Sunset   in   one. -El  rcgrcsado  del  Hoi — 

Theatre 

'^ ■ ..283 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

(Continued  Drift.-Extreme  Cold.-Explosions.-Mcteor8.-Refraction.- 
The  Area  of  Drift-Routine  Life.-Perspiration  at-42°. -Washington's 
B.rth-day^-Cold  Amusements.-The  Scurvy.-An  Insect  ?-Our  two 
C  ooks.-Our  lowest  Temperature.— Hygienic  Resources 297 

CHAPTER  XXxV. 
Meteors.-Scintillation  of  Planets.-Auroras.-Day  Auroras 3 1  -j 

CHAPTER  XXXVr. 
The  Rescue  in  her  Ire  Dock.  -  Treatment  of  Scurvy.  -  Imagination. - 
Progress  of  Disease.-Meteors,  Spicule.  Parhelion—Imperfect  Observa- 
tions.—Rate  of  Drift.— Water.— Frost  Smoke 334 

.        CHAPTER  XXXVII. 
SnowDrifts.-The  open  M'ater.-Ice  Voices.^Seal  Stalking.-Ice  Com- 
inot.ons.-Narwhals  at  Play-State  of  the  Ice  Pack.-An  Excursion.- 
1  hp  i\  arwhals  again.— Changed  Phase  of  the  Ice 334 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

April.-Thawing.-Mpasures  of  Heat.-Thermometrical  Fallacies.-Clear 
\^ater.-Endo8mosis.-Salting  the  Ice-Put  out  Cabin  Lamps—Sur- 
gicalSkillofaBear:  his  Escape:  his  Instincts. 345 

.  CHAPTER  XXXIX. 
House-cleaning.-The  Half-deck-Progress  of  the  Season. -Somateria 
-Narwhals    releasing   themeelves.  -  Noises  of  Narwhal  and  white 
"  hale.— May-day.— Sleeplessness.-Snow-blindness _ 354 

I         CHAPTER  XL.                 ' 
Trying  to  cut  out.-Scurty.-Costume,  Skill  in  Tailoring.-Birds.-Lan.l 
Cape  Searle.-Conditiofi  of  the  Advance.-Ineflfectual  Attempt  to  launch 
her.—'  Y-  Arctic  Voya^eres'  of  the  olden  Time .363 

« 

CHAPTER  XLI. 

Cape  Walsingham.-Mount  Raleigh.-Rate  of  Drift  increasing.-Refrac- 
tion,  an  Esquimaux »— Dear  killed  by  the  Rescues— A  Tide— The 
Seals :  their  Habite.— Infiltration  of  Salt  Water  through  the  Ice.— Sum- 
ma»7  of  May ,^^ 


,/i: 


suits  of  intense 
. — Ice  Masses.' — 
n. — Approach  of 
csado   del   Sol.  — 


Page 


883 


— Refraction. — 
— Wasliington's 
lect? — Our  two 
8 297 


18. 


3ia 


Imagination.  — 
erfect  Observa- 


324 


ng. — Ice  Com- 
n  Excursion. — 


334 


llacies. — Clear 
Lamps. — Sur- 


345 


1. — Somateria. 
al  and  white 
354 


Birds. — I>and, 
mpt  to  launch 


ing. — Refrac- 
.  Tide.— The 
e  Ice. — Sum- 
-"- ..,  »fe=^ 


CONTENTS.  xi, 

CHAPTER  XLII. 

The  Ice.- Its  Geological  Analogies.- Its  Progress  of  Formation,   its'''*' 
Changes,  Decay,  Destruction —Apparent  Causes 3^1 

CHAPTER  XLin. 
June^-The  Break-up.-The  Rescue  Free.-The  Advance  and  her  Camel. 
-Rolling  Ice.-The  Calves-State  of  the  Ice  after  the  Break-up 39f. 

CHAPTER  XLIV. 
Our  Floe.-Efforts  for  Release-Remembrancers  on  the  Ice-Partial- 
Disengagement—Release.^Liquid  Water.-Magnilicent  Floe 404 

CHAPTER  XLV. 
Fantastic  Forms  of  Ice.— Explanation.— Archipelago  of  Bergs -JFor  Wei 
Imgton  Channel  again:-The  Sukkertoppen.-Condition  of  the  Settle- 
ment-Recruiting—Godhaven- Architectural  Bergs.- In  the  Ice 
again—Seal  Hunts.-Habits  of  the  Seal—A  Lee  Ice  Shore— Incrusted      « 
Bergs—Esquimaux— Unas  and  Company— Arrival  at  Proven 410 

CHAPTER  XLVI. 
Proven— The  Hosky  House  of  Cristiansen :  its  Furniture. -Emplov- 
ments  and  Habits  of  Imnates-Fourth  of  July.-Visits  from  the  Jane 
O'Boness  and  Pacific ^. 

CHAPTER  XLVIL 
Uppernavik-The  Governor's  Family  .-Petersen-Bright  Atmosphere 
and  clear  Water— Baffin's  Islands-Gathering  Duck  Eggs -The  Ei- 
der :  their  Nests,  Habits,  and  Enemi^.— The  M'LeUan.-Tlie  WlmlinR 
Fleet.-The  Prince  Albert,  M.  Bellot,  and  Mr.  Kennedy.-Picturesque 
uergs.-Echoe8.-Adventure  in  the  Skreed.-Esquimaux  Dogs— Starv- 
ing Colony— Training  and  Employment  of  Dogs 431 

CHAPTER  XLVIIL 

'^Sitt!rJ'^"''''~^Z'''  '"'""■  ''''''  "'''«''*'  C»J«'-'  Configuration, 
Structure,  Movement.-Curvature  of  Ice-Primary  I^orms  of  Bergs - 
Changes  and  secondary  Forms-Studded  and  imbedded  Bergs— C™,- 
<a«o<frame5— Disintegrated  Bergs-Effects  on  Soundings 445 

CHAPTER  XLIX.  ■ 

March  and  Collision  of  the  Bergs. -Almost  a  Nip-The  Season  going  - 

Gcwd.bytotheAlbert."-Crisisapproaching.-Bergsmoving.-Drifting 
Ice  Beacj,.-Procession.-Berg  Fractures-The  Opening-The  Escape  460    , 

r  CHAPTER  L. 

Uppernavik^Govemor's  Mansion.-The  Feast  of  Radishes.-The  Ka- 
yack,  Its  Form  and  Construction-Esquimaux  Implements  of  the  Hunt. 
-Uses  orthe  Kayack.-Feats  of  the  Kayackersr-Hazards.^InvoluBta- 
lyExpatrtation.— Conclusion..  "      ,_  _ 

*  """•■••--------i.»'«»..^...  478    - 

Ap?KNmx 

""^^        ' , 489 


"%,. 


s 


.  -;» 


-\ 


\ 


\ 


\ 


>' 


«i 


WimitH  ^kks  ^rinntll  ^^^Mion. 


■o 


CHAPTBR  I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 


^ 


The!  region  which  is  known  on  our  maps  as  th6 
Arctic  Ocean  is  inclosed  between  the  northern  shores 
of  Asia,  Europe,  ^d  Amerida.  It  has  an  area  Of 
about  four  and  a  half  millions  of  square  miles:  its 
•  tributary  waters  epcceed  those  of  the  Western  Atlan- 
tic  from  Hudson's  Bay  toj  the  Caribbean;  and  it  girds 
the  Pole  with  an  ii;e-lock^d  coast  of  nearly  three  thou- 
sand marine  leagdes :  it  ijs  a  mysterious  sea,  that  has 
baffled  for  centuries  the  rlesearch  of  navigators.  One 
of  the  more  recenj;  attempts  to  penetrate  its  retcesses 
will  form  the  subject  of  this  volume. 

About  the  year  1816,  t^e  notion  of  a  northwestern 
passage,  which  ha^  fallen  for  a  time  into  the  same 
categdry  wi^h  the!  Eh  Dorado  and  the  Cathay  of  a 
less  practica^era,  ^iegan  U>  fiiid  favor  with  the  BriV 
ish  government.  |  The  s^^irit  of  private  enterprise 
took  the  samevdireJBtion.  "S^ear  after  year  expedition 
followed  expeditioii,  under  Commanders  of  tried  gal- 
lantry  and  intelligence.  siVt  they  all  came  back 
without  traversing  the  forbidden  channel;  bearing 
contributions,  indeed,  to  our  knowledge  rtf  its  charac- 
ter and  aspects,  but  accumulating  proofe  also  of  the 
hazards  of  exploring  eveif  its  baixietr^T        


s 


■J 


r 


tii-l' 


14 


S-'i'x 


INTRODUCTORY. 


T 


fr  was  in  1844  that  Sir  Jojin  Franklin  was  ap- 
pointed  to  the  charge  of  his  latest  Polar  expeditioL "  . 
His  first  visit  to  the  Arctic  regions  had  been  in  lai^  ^ 
as  a  captain  in  Commodore- Buchan's  squadrof  ^^^ 
.   after  this  had  returned  unsuccessful,  he  hall! 
that  most  fearful  of  all  the  overland  jouifite] 
period,  the  descent  to  the  mouth  oflhaJftbermine 

wTstr  T  t  *r''  rV"'  '^^^"^^*^^'  ^"  conjunction 
with  Sir  John  Richardson,  the  more  western  portions 
Qt  Arctic  America. 

No  officer  could  have. been  found  in  the  marine  of 
m  country  tvho  combined  more  admirable  qualifica,  . 
tions  fcr  the  duties  of  an  explorer.     To  the  resolute  ' 
S^  and  powers  of  endurance,  which  his  former"' 
exp^ffbns  had  tested  so  severely,  Sir  John  Franklin 
uni^d  many  delightful  traits  of  character.    Within 
enthusiasm  almost  boyish,  he  had  a  spirit  of  large 
but  fearless  forecast,  and  a  sensitive  kindness  of  heart 
that  commiserated  every  «ne  but  himself    He  is  re- 
membered  to  this  day  among  the  Indians  of  North 
America,  as  "the  great  chief  who  would  not  kill  a 
mosquito." 

His  vessels,  the  Erebus  and"  Terror,  were  soon  fit- 

teifor^a;  and  on  the  jgM^y,  1845,  h^  weigh, 
•  ed  an#>r,  with  a  pick^MCd  as  ni^a  bS 

of  officers  as  ever  volulW^lra  service  of  peril. 

Ihey  were  met  by -a  whaler  on  the  26th  of  July  fol. 

lowing,  in  the  upper  waters  of  Baffin's  Bay,  moored  ^ 

to  an  iceberg,  and  waiting  for  an  opening  in  « the 

pack.       Ihey  have  not  been  seen  since. 

^'  When  the  year  1848  had  arrived  without  any  tid/ 
l^d^m  of  this  gallant  party.  Great  Britain  dispatched 
iree  separate  expeditions  to  reclaim  them.    Th« 


i 


/ 


INTRODUCTORY. 


16 


were  well  devised;  but  peculiar  drawbacks  seemed 
to  attend  their  efforts,  and  before  the .  beginning  of 
1850  they  had  all  abandoned  the  search,  almost  with- 
»  o.ut  attaining  the  first. threshold  of  inquiry. 

Then-  failure  aroused  every  where  the  generous 
syrapatliies  of  m^.  Science  felt  for  its  votaries,  hu- 
mamty  mourned  its  fellows,  apd  an  impulse,  holier 
and  more  energetic  than  either,  invoked  a  crusade 
of  rescue.  T^t  admirable  woman,  the  wife  of  Sir 
John  Franklin,  not  content  with  stimulating  the  re- 
newec^  efforts  of  lier  own  cduntrymen,  qlaimed  the 
co-operation  of  the  world.  In  letters  to  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  full  of  the  eloquence  of  feeling 
she  called  on  us,  as  a  "kindred  pe6ple,  to  join  heart 
and  hand  in  the  enterprise  of  snatching  the  lost  navi- 
gators  from  a  dreary  grave." 

The  delays  incident  to  much  of  our  national  legis- 
lation  menaced  the  defeat  of  her  appeal.    The  bill 
making  appropriations  for  the  outfit  of  an  expedition 
Iingere^Von  its  passage,  and  the  season  for  commenc 
ing  operations  bad  nearly  gone  by.    At  this  junctiire, 
a  noble-spirited  rnQtchant  of  New  York,  of  whdin  as 
an  American  and  ^  man  I  can  hardly  trust  myself  to 
speak,  fitted  out  two  of  his  own  vessels,  and  proflfered 
them  gratuitously  to  the  government.     Thus  prompt- 
ed  by  the  munificent  liberality  of  Mr.  Grinnell,  Con-^ 
gross  hastened  ttrfcake  the  expedition  under  its  charge 
and  authorized  the  president  to  detaU  from  the  navj? 
such  necessary  officers  and  seamen,  as  might  be  will, 
ing  to  engage  in  it.  ^^ 

Though  I  accompanied  this  expedition  as  its  sen.    ' 
lor  naedical  officer,  I  had  no  claim  to  be  considered 
as  Its  historian.     Such  a  province  belonged  strictly  to 


HP- 


our  commander;  butiie  having  declined  mailing  anf 


,     r- 


^. 


^^ 


if  ■ 


16 


INTRODUCTORY. 


Other  than  an  official  report,  I  have  heen  invited  to 
prepare  a  history  of  the  cruise,  under  the  form  of  a 
personal  narrative.     I  had  promised  my  brother  at 
parting,  that  I  would  keep  a  journal,  to  furnish  topics 
perhaps,  for  a  fireside  conversation ;  and  I  have  chosen 
to  draw  most  of  my  materials  from  this  record.     I 
might  have  done  more  wisely,  if  I  ha^  been  content 
to  substitute  sometimes  the  educated  opinions  of  oth- 
ers  for  those  which  impressed  me  at  the  moment. 
My  apology  must  be,  that  I  do  not  profess  to  be  ac- 
curate, but  truthful. 


■ili>i^«l    iii.mii 


CHAPTER  11. 

I- 

J  On  the  12th  of  May,  while  bathing  in  the  tepid 
waters  of  the  Gujf,  of  Mexico,  I  received  one  of  those 
courteous  little  epistles  from  Washington  which  the 
electric  telegraph  has  made  so  familiar  to  naval  offi- 
cers.  It  detached  me  from  the  coast  survey,  and  or- 
dered  me  to  «  proceed  forthwith  to  New  York,  for  duty 
upon  the  Arctic  Expedition." 

Seven  and  a  half  days  later,  I  had  accomplished  my 
overland  journey  of  thirteen  hundred  miles,  and  in 
forty  hours  more  our  squadron  was  beyond  the  limits 
of  the  United  States :  the  Department  had  calculated 
my  traveling  time  to  a  nicety. 

During  the  fraction  of  a  day  that  was  left  me  at 
iNew  York,  I  strove  assiduously  to  secure  a  few  imple- 
ments  for  scientific  observation,  as  well  as  to  get  to- 
getherlhe  elenients  of  an. Aretie  wardrobe,    ^hadrof-^ 


course,  the  zealous  aid  of  Mr.  Grinnell  in  these  hurried 


._,u^.*»it!aa 


./ 


) 


18 


VESSELS     AT    ANCHOR 


arrangements ;  but  I  could  not  help  being  struck  with 
the  universal  sympathy  displayed  toward  our  expedi- 
tion.  From  the  ladies  who  busied  themselves  in  seal- 
ing  up  air-tight  packages  of  fruit-cakes,  to  the  mana- 
gers  of  the  Astor  House,  who  insisted  that  their  hotel 
should  be  the  free  head-quarters  of  our  party,  it  was 
one  continued  round  of  proffered  services.  I  should 
have  a  long  list  of  citizens  to  thank  if  I  were  allowed 
to  name  them  on  these  pages.  ^L^ 

It  was  not,  perhaps,  to  be  expected  that  ^^xpedi- 
tion  equipped  so  hastily  as  ours,  and  wit^  dn^  Engross- 
ing object,  should  have  facilities  for  observing  very 
accurately,  or  go  out  of  its  way  to  find  matters  for  cu- 
rious  research.    But  even  the  routine  of  a  national 
ship  might,  I  was  confident;  allow  us  to  gather  some- 
thing  for  the  stock  of  general  knowledge.     With  the 
assistance  of  Professor  Loomis,  I  collected  as  I  could 
some  simple  instruments  for  thermal  and  magnetic  reg- 
istration,  which  would  have  been  of  use  if  they  had 
found  their  way  on  board.    A  very  few  books  for  the 
dark  hours  of  winter,  and  a  stock  of  coarse  woolen 
clothing,  re-enforced  by  a  magnificent  robe  of  wolf- 
skins,  that  had  wandered  down  to  me  from  the  snow- 
drifts  of  Utah,  constituted  my  entire  outfit ;  and  with 
these  I  made  my  report  to  Commodore  Salter  at  the 
Brooklyn  Navy  Yard. 

Almost  within  the  shadow  of  the  line-of-battle  ship 
North  Carolina,  their  hulls  completely  hidden  beneath 
a  projecting  wharf,  were  two  little  hermaphrodite  brigs. 
Their  spars  had  no  man-of-war  trigness ;  their  decks 
were  choked  with  half-stowed  cargo ;  and  for  size,  I 
felt  as  if  I  could  straddle  from  the  main  hatch  to  the 
bulwarks. 

__-A*  this  first  sight  o£  the  Qrimiell  Ejcpeditien,  I  eoa-- 


.  ::-:\.  ,i    „-«^*jj. 


IN    NEW    YORK    HARBOR. 


19 


fess  that  the  fastidious  experience  of  naval  life  or 
board  frigates  and  corvettes  made  me  look  down  on 
these  humble  vessels.  They  seemed  to  me  more  like 
a  couple  of  coasting  schooners  than  a  national  squad- 
ron bound  for  a  perilous  and  distant  sea.  Many  a 
time  afterward  I  recalled  the  short-sighted  ignorance 
ot  these  first  impressions,  when  some  Ifude  encounter 

*    r    i     '""^  "^^^  ''*'°'^^'*  ^"^  ^*^^*y  very  secondary 
thoughts.  -^ 

The  "Advance,"  my  immediate  home,  had  been  orig- 
inally intended  for  the  transport  of  machinery  Her 
timbers  were  heavily  moulded,  and  her  fastenings  of 
the  most  careful  sort.  Shp  was  fifty-three  tons  larger 
than  her  consort,  the  «  Rescue ;»  yet  both  together 
barely  equaled  two  hundred  and  thirty-five  tons.    ' 

To  navigate  an  ice-bound  sea,  speed,  though  import- 
ant, IS  much  less  so  than  strength.     Extreme  power 
ol  resistance  to  pressure  must  be  combined  with  facil- 
ity  of  handling,  adequate  stowage,  and  a  solidity  of 
Jrame  that  may  encounter  sudden  concussions  feariess- 
ly ;  and  It  seemed  to  both  Mr.  Grinnell  and  Lieutenant 
Ue  Haven  that  these  qualities  might  be  best  embodi- 
ed in  such  small  vessels  as  the  Advance  and  Rescue 
It  was,  indeed,  something  like  a  return  to  the  dimen- 
sions of  our  predecessors  of  the  olden  time  ;•  for  the 
three  vessels  of  Frobisher  summed  up  only  seventy- 
five  tons,  and  Baffin's  largest  was  ten  tons  less  in  bur- 
den than  the  Rescue.    As  the  vessels  of  our  expedition 
were  more  thoroughly  adapted,  perhaps,  for  this  dan, 
gerous  service  than  any  that  had  been  fitted  out  be- 
fore  for  the  Arctic  ^eas,  I  will  describe  them  in  de- 
Daii. 

Commencing  with^ the  outside:  the  huUjyAs  Mter- 
-idiy  double,  a  brig  within  a  brig.    An  outer  sheathing 


/     ,J 


mm 


1  r 

"  r'i 

i  i 

■  li 

J  ' 

I 

If ' 

1  1 

11 

11  1  ' 

1! 

, 

H 1 

4 
•r 

Jl 

-1 

If  f  J 

J 

1     1 

1  t  i 

i 

20 


VESSELS    AT    ANCHOR 


of  two  and  a  half  inch  oak  was  covered  with  a  sec- 
ond of  the  same  material ;  and  strips  of  heavy  sheet- 
iron  extended  from  the  hows  to  the  beam,  as  a  shield 
against  the  cutting  action  of  the  new  ice.  The  decks 
were  double,  made  water-tight  by  a  packing  of  tarred 
felt  between  them.  The  entire  interior  was  lined, 
ceiled,  with  cork;  which,  independently  of  its  low 
conducting  power,  was  a  valuable  protection  against 
the  condensing  moisture,  one  of  the  greatest  evils  of 
the  polar  clilnate. 

The  strengthening  of  her  skeleton,  her  wooden 
frame-work,  was  admirable.  Forward,  from  kelson 
to  deck,  was  a  mass  of  solid  timber,  clamped  and 
dove-tailed  with  nautical  wisdom,  for  seven  feet  from 
the  cutwater ;  so  that  we  could  spare  a  foot  or  two  of 
our  bows  without  springing  a  leak.  To  prevent  the 
ice  from  forcing  in  her  sides,  she  was  built  with  an 
extra  set  of  beams  running  athwart  her  length  at  in- 
tervals of  four  feet,  and  so  arranged  as  to  ship  and  un- 
ship at  pleasure.  ^From  the  Samson-posts,  strong  ra- 
diating timbers,  called  shores,  diverged  in  every  di- 
rection ;  and  oaken  knees,  hanging  and  oblique,  were 
added  wherever  space  permitted. 

Looking  forward  to  the  hampering  ice  fields,  our 
rudder  was  so  constructed  that  it  could  be  taken  on 
board  and  replaced  again  in  less  than  four  minutes? 
Qur  winch,  capstan,  and  patent  windlass  were  of  the 
best  and  newest  construction. 

A  little  hurricane-house  amidships  contained  the 
one  galley  that  cooked  for  all  handfs,  and  a  large  fun- 
nel of  galvanized  iron  was  connected  with  the  chim- 
/ney,  in  such  a  way  that  the  heat  circulating  round  it 
might  supply  us  with  melted  snow.  An  armorer's 
forge,  a  full  get  of  ice  anchors,  a  couple  of  well-built 


B»  »CALt  or  STATUTL  MILCS  . 


MMjtfausr 


"t  ■■'  T""'*'" 


Mh 


CHARf 

Fjdiibiling;  the  rpcput  disco^ries  iu  tlw 

ARCTIC    REGIoInS 

prniectfd  by  (hti.t.A.Srhott.Esq.JJS.ioiistSurvey.fh^ii  thrhihsl 
iiitA  inatfriohv  dmosited  with  Lie\  '  '~  «  -^   . 


ioIns 

fd  by  Chas.A.Srhott,Bsq.,U.S.CoiistSu>^\\fTOni  thrhihsl 
and  nuiteriaU  dqioxited  with  Lieut. it^ay.TtS-^Vttro/frti 
*iE-l.DEHAVEN,ESQ.^Vwfli/?»<//7<»/'  /Z  k  GHnneJl  1 

3       "                                                                                                                        / 
100  „,  _.  •!    /  


Tefaitpofftia. 


^'  CHART     S  .     ■        ' 
*'  the  rpcput  discoleiies  iu  the 

CTIC    REGldNS 

.U. S.t'oiist  Survewih^u  the  hilr.tt  Knqtish  puhh'ratitms 
tf  with  Lifut.  l^ay,  U  S.  ^ub-o/fraphit'  Bureau .  a 

Q.,fornm^ndft'  of  U.  k  OHnneTl  Kvftedhion . 


Tefaetpofftia. 


:tfS!ii*fciS4!S«iLa 


m    NEW    lOEE    HAKBOK. 


21 


whale-Uts,  and  three  ^^  ,*„,«,,  „^^  ^^  „^ 

penditure.  loresight  and  unsparing  ex- 

sotounlte  ^T™™*"*"' ■"-Semente  we  were  not 
S  well  re^nLZ" H      °  '"'"P™''''' '""'"  """""'J 

«  regarded  among  our  merchant  ZZn^Ui^T 

the  two.     The'  Zf^t      '""'P"'^°»  ^^'^een 
and  substanti  JU;;::^;''  ■"  ^"'1""»*'  ^■"l  «Peed, 

pairr'c:tr„c'';ssrr^^^ 

There  were  oth^  fhinn!  k  ^     ^.^""^^  equipment. 

of  o„r  brig,:  t:^;:zz  I'irhf™  r 

with  a  smSr  S«  W  *^^°  ""*' "  "-^membered 
leteoldeSbLs^th  th„^""T  f """«""  °^''h«'- 
that  aceoripIT^rCm  rr"*'""'''  ball-cartridges 

we  got  hon.^.  Thtrmri:.:  r'  Y"" 

Baffin's  B"y.  "J^"*  ">  *™«  f"  the  navigation  of 
^euurews  c«^ted  of  man^f.w«.s:jsgira.vaour= 


-m:.,;. 


22 


'VESSELS    AT    ANCHOR 


climes  and  habitudes,  with  constitutions  most  of  them 
impaired  by  disease,  or  temporarily  broken  by  the  ex» 
cesses  of  shore  life.  But  this  original  defect  of  mate- 
rial was  in  a  great  degree  counteracted  by  the  strict 
and  j udiciou*  discipline  of  our  execiitive  officers.  The 
crews  proved  in  the  end  willing  and  reliable ;  and,  in 
the  midst  of  trials  which  would  haVe  tested  men  of 
more  pretension,  were  never  found  )f>  waver.  I  re- 
cord, in  the  commencement  of  "^s  narrative,  how 
much  respect  and  kindly  feeling"l|iw  one  of  their  lit- 
tle body,  entertain  for  their  ess^ml  contribution  1» 
the  ends  of  the  expedition.         '»   ^ 

Of  my  brother  officers  I  can  not  say  a  word.  I  am 
so  intimately  bound  to  them  by  the  kindly  and  un- 
broken  associations  of  friend  and  mess-mate,  thati  I 
shrink  from  any  other  mention  of  them  than  such  m 
my  narrative  requires.  All  told,  our  little  corps  'bf 
officers  numbered  fcKJBj;  for  each  ship,  including  that 
non-effective  limb,  the  doctor.  Our  two  crews,  with 
the  aid  of  a  cook  and  steward,  counted  twelve  and 
thirteen ;  giving  a  total  of  but  thirty-three,  whose  dis- 
tribution and  positions  will  be  seen  in  the  accompa- 
nying list.  „     •• 

ADVANCE. 

Officer*. 

Lieutenant  Commanding — Edwin  J.  De  Haven,  commanding  the  expedition. 
Passed  Midshipman — William  H.  Murdaugh,  acting  master  and  first  officer. 
Midshipman — William  I.  Lovell,  second  officer. 

£.  K.  Kane,  M.D.,  passed  assistant  surgeon. 


^ren. 

William  Morton,  Henry  De  Roque,  Johii  Blinn,  Gibson  Canithers,  Thomaa 
Dunning,  William  West,  Charles  Berry,  Louis  Costa,  William  Holmes,  Edward 
Wilson,  William  Benson,  Edward  C.  Dtelano,  James  Smith. 


most  of  them 
en  by  the  ex« 
sfeot  of  mate- 
by  the  strict 
officers.  The 
able;  and, in 
s^ted  men  of 
vaver.  I  re- 
irrative,  how 
le  of  their  lit- 
»ntribution  1» 


IN    NEW    YORK    HA^bJr. 


RESCUE. 
<     >    Officert. 


i""'*iiI^'T~®"'"""  ^  Griffin,  commanding  the  Rescue 
Pajicd  Mtdihtpman— Robert  R   rar.«,       .  ivescne. 

Ba«,,.«.„_He':::;  BrJ:  aeeo„;rffic'er  *  ™"*" """  '"*  "«-'• 


Benjamin  Vreeland.M.D./aasistant 
Crew. 


surgeon. 


23 


L.::;?X'.'Be';S„tr^^^^^^^  ^;^-  B^c.  Wmam 

Stewart,  Alexander  Daly.  H.  J.  White  i-Total.  33  Johnson,  Jame« 


<.i,. 


g  the  expedition, 
and  first  officer. 


lilanithers,  Thomas 
n  Holmes,  Edward 


r^-'Qm 


— 7T" 


I:' 


I     .  CHAPTER  III. 

About  one  o'clock  on  the  22d  of  May,  the  asthmatic 
old  steain-tug^hat  was  to  be  our  escort  to  the  sea 
moved  slowly  off.  Our  adieux  from  the  Navy  Yard 
were^  silenl^  enough.  We  cost  o^r  country  no  compli- 
mentary  gunpowder;  and  it  was  not  untU  we  got 
abreast  of  the-.dty^  that  the  crdwded  wharves  and 
shipping  showed  how  much  that  bigger  Ijommunity 
sympathized  with  our  undertaking?  Cheere  and  hur- 
ras folloV^d  us  till  we  had  parsed  the  Battery,  and 
the  lerry.boats  and  steamers  came  out  of  their  track 
to  salute  us  in  the  bay. 

The  sky  was  overeast  before  we  lost  sight  of  the 
spire  of  old  Trinity;  and  by  evening  it  had  clouded 
over  so  rapidly,  that  it  was  evident  we  M  to  look  for 
a  dLrty  night  outside.  Off  Sandy  Hook  the  wind  fresh- 
ened, and  the  sea  grew  so  rough,  that  we  were  forced 
to  part  abruptly  from  the  friends  who  ha^  kppf.  ,i. 


■vi-A 


\:MS^^^J\ 


~\  - 


THE    OOOD-BY. 


20 


company  We  were  eating  and  drinking  in  our  little 
cabin,  when  the  summons  came  for  them  to  hurry  up 
mstantly  aftd  leap  aboard  the  boat.  The  same  heavy 
squall  which  m^e  us  cast  loose  so  suddenly  the  cable 
of  the  steamer  gathered  upon  us  the  night  and  the 
storm  together;  and  in  a  few  minutes  our  transition 
wa^  complete  from  harbor  life  and  home  associations 
to  the  discomforte  and  hardships  of  our  career. 

The  difference  struck  me,  and  not  quite  pleasantly, 
as  I  chmbed  oyer  straw  and  rubbish  into  the  little  pe- 
cuhum  which  was  to  be,  my  resting.pla^e  for  so  long 
a  time.    The  cabm,  which  made  the  homestead  of  four 
human  beings^was  somewhat  less  in  dimensions  than 
a  penitentiary  cell.     There  was  just  room  enough  for 
two  berths  of  six  feet  each  on  a  side;  and  the  area 
between,  which  ia  known  to  naval  men  as  "  the  coun- 
try,   seemed  completely  filled  up  with  the  hinged  ta. 
ble,  the  four  camp-stools,  and  the  Jockers.    A  hanffinir 
lamp  that  creaked  uneasily  on  its  "gimbals,"  illus- 
trated  through  .the  mist  some  long  rows  of  crockery 
shelves  and  the  dripping  step-ladder  that  led  directly 
from  the  wet  deck  above.    Every  thing  spoke  of  cheer- 
less discomfort  and  narrow  restraint. 

By  the  jrext  day  the  storm  had  abated.     We  were 
out  of  sight  of  land  but  had  not  yet  parted  with  the 
^t  ^  oar  well-wishers.     A  beautiful  pilot-boat,  the 
Washington,  With  Mr.  Grinnell  and  his  sons  on  b^ard, 
continued  to  bear  tis  company.     But  on  the  25th  we 
saw  the  white  flag  hoisted  as  the  signal  of  farewell. 
We  dosed  up  our  letters  and  took  them  aboard,  drank 
healths,  shook  hands-and  the  wind  being  fair  were  ^ 
out  of  sight  of  the  schooner  before  evenilTg 
Inow  began,  with  an  instinct  of  future  exigencies 
•^"^y^fij^  retiieat;    Th^  only  sporrSouTd  call  my 


\. 


|r        " 


fl- 


^.  }"'■'    E.^/'     S;*-';  /'^.■•^; 


m§Ww 


■     lA 


■'•\  ' 

V 


?- 


"'  > 


i  f-     •'• 


26 


CREATURE    COMFORTS. 


f^^ 


!? 


/■^*r-> 


own  was  the  berth  I  have  spoken  of  before.  It  was 
a  sort  of  bunk — a  right-angled  excavation,  of  six  feet 
by  two  feet  eight  in  horizontal  dimensions,  let  into 
the  side  of  the  vessel,  with  a  height  of  something  less 
than  a  yard.  My  first  care  was  to  keep  water  out,  my 
second  .^ to  make  it  warm.  A  bundle  of  tacks,  and  a 
few  yards  of  India-rubber  cloth,  soon  made  me  an  inx- 
penetrable  casing  over  the  entire  wood- work.  Upon 
this  were  laid  my  Mormon  wolf-skin  and  a  somewhat 
ostentatious  Astracan  fur  cloak,  a  relic  of  former  travel. 
Two  little  wooden  shelves  held  my  scanty  library ;  a 
third  supported, a  reading  lamp,  or,  upon  occasion,  a 
Berzelius'  argand,  to  be  lighted  when  the  dampness 
made  an  increase  of  heat  necessary.  My  watch  ticked 
from  its  particular  nail/Ai^-»  jnore  noiseless  monitor, 
my  thermometer,  occupiqa  Mother.  My  ink-bottle 
was  suspended,  pendulunslfashion,  from  a  hook,  and  to 
one  long  string  was  fastened,  like  the  ladle  of  a  street- 
pump,  my  entire  toilet,  a  to()tii-brush,.a  comb,  and  a 
hair-brush. 

Now,  when  all  these  distributions  had  been  happily 
accomplished,  and  I  crawled  in  from  the  wet,  and  cold, 
and  disorder  of  without,  through  a  slit  in  the  India- 
rubber  cloth,  to  the  very  centre  of  my  complicated  re- 
sources, it  would  be  hard  for  any  one  to  realize  the 
quantity  of  comfort  whiph  I  felt  I  had  manufactured. 
My  lamp  burned  brightly;  little  or  no  water  distilled 
from  the  roof;  my  furs  warmed  me  into  satisfaction ; 
and  I  realized  that  I  was  sweating  myself  out  of  my 
preliminary  cold,  and  could  temper  down  at  pleasure 
the  abruptness  of  my  acclimation. 

From  this  time  I  began  my  journal.  At  first  its 
entries  were  littl^  else  than  a  selfish  record  of  personal 
^scoraforts.    Tf  wbs  less  Ifian  It  ibrthlglit  since  J  was" 


i 


w  ■  mma!im»m^^ipmi^*^f* ' 


Ji^ 


i<JjtaMU.i»'ii|ifi«"i>twi. 


OFF     NEWFOUNDLAND. 


27 


Bt  sTrice  ]  was 


under  the  sky  of  Florida,  looking  out  on  the  live  oak 
with  its -bearded  moss,  and  breathing  the  magnolia. 
Comfortable  as  my  bunk  was,  compared  with  the  deck, 
1  was  conscious  that,  on  the  whole,  I  had  iiot  bettered 
my  quarters. 

But  with  the  7th  of  June  came  fine,  bright,  bracing 
weather.  We  were  off  Newfoundland,  getting  along 
well  over  a  smooth  sea.  We  had  been  looking  at  the 
low  hills  near  Cape  Race,  when,  about  noon,  a  great 
mass  of  whiteness  was  seen  floating  in  the  sunshine. 
It  was  our  first  iceberg.  It  was  in  shape  an  oblong 
cube,  and  about  twice  as  large  as  Girard  College.  Its 
color  was  an  unmixed,  but  not  dazzling  white  :  indeed, 
it  seemed  entirely  coated  with  snow  of  such  unsullied, 
unreflecting  purity,  that,  as.  we  passed  within  a  hund- 
red yards  of  it,  not  a  glitter  reached  us.  It  reminded 
me  of  a  great  marble  monolith,  only  awaiting  the  chisel 
to  stand  out  in  peristyle  and  pediment  a  floating  Par- 
thenon. There  was  something  very  imposing  in  the 
impassive  tranquillity  with  which  it  received  the  lash- 
ings of  the  sea. 

The  next  day  we  were  off"  St.  John's,  surrounded  by 
bergs,  which  nearly  blockaded  the  harbor.  A  boat's 
crew  of  six  brawny  Saxon  men  rowed  out  nine  miles 
to  meet  us,  and  ofler  their  services  as  pilots.  They 
were  disappointed  when  we  told  them  we  were  "bound 
for  Greenland  ;"  but  their  hearty  countenances  bright- 
ened into  a  glow  when  we  added,  "  in  search  of  Sir 
John  Franklin." 

We  ran  into  an  iceberg  the  night  after,  and  carried 

away  our  jib-boom  and  martingale :  it  was  our  first 

adventure  with  these   mountains  of  the  sea.     We 

Jhumped  aga,inst  it  for  a  few  senhnds,  but  slid  off^ 

smoothly  enough  into  open  water  afterward.     Two 


5HBSS 


sasRe 


In 


28 


OFF     NEWFOUNDLAND. 


days  later,  we  met  a  j|cAoo/ of  fin-backed  whales,  great, 
crude,  wallowing  sea-hogs,  snorting  out  fountains  of 
white  spray,  and  tumbling,  porpoise  fashion,  one  over 
another  about  the  vessel.  My  journal  compares  them 
to  a  huge  old-fashioned  India-rubber  shoe. 


I  whales,  great, 
it  fountains  of 
shion,  one  over 
compares  them 
oe. 


■«)■■■ 


« 

i 


-^^  -- — Z'"'^. 


CURRENT  CHART 

or 

BAFFIN'S   BAY 

,T„i„trd  I,v  ,nia..A.S.4.att  R.,.r.8.c..<..l  .s,„ 
^  IHnu  tb..  Inij  bnnk  €f  the  Adr.uu-.-,  ami 

lo  ""■  P"»'rt«'.ji'nrii;a  111- HT  BANK.     |fj 

•  o 


■TV'.' 


THI  SUKKKBTOPPEH. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


We  were  now  drawing  near  to  Davis's  Straitk,  and 
the  names  which  recorded  our  progress  upon  the  dsharts 
were  full  of  Arctic  associations.  -  The  Mita  Incognita 
of  Frohisher  and  the  Cape  of  God's  Mercy  greeted  us 
from  the  American  coast :  ^Spe  Farewell  was  on  our 
starboard  quarter,  and  the  *'  Land  of  Desolation"  nearly 
abeam. 

A  piece  of  drift-wood,  a  wanderer  from  the  region  of 
trees,  passed  us  on  its  northward  journey.  The  course 
of  this  drifl^-wood  illustrates  remarkably  the  benefi- 
cent adaptation  t)f  ocean  currents  to  the  wants  of 
man.  It  lig  found  abundantly  on  the  lower  coasts 
of  Greenland,  an^,  passing  round  them  from  the  At- 
lantic, floats  along  the  eastern  shore  of  Baffin's  Bay 
to  the  north,  in  opposition  to  the  general  tendency . 
of  its  waters,  i 

— -the  great  oounter-current^  whietiln  the"North  At* 
lantic  borders  jthe  Gulf  Stream,  flowing  from  the  north- 


,1 


.fifep- 


30 


daVIs's   Straits. 


east  to  the  southwest,  is  defected  at  Cape  Farewell, 
and  carried  abruptly  along  the  west  coast  of  Greenland 
toward  the  north.  Such  is  the  observation  of  all  the 
Danish  settlers,  strikingly  confirmed  by -the  accumula- 
tions  .of  ice  on  the  southeastern  shores  of  the  Penin- 
sula.  This  ice  is  evidently  from  tjie  Spitzbergen  Seas ; 
and  at  seasons  of  the  year  when  the  upper  waters  of 
Greenland  are  comparatively  unobstructed,  it  com- 
pletely  fills  up  the  iiords  of  the  southeastern  coast: 
Thus  the  settlements  of  Baal's  River  and  Julianshaab 
are  for  months  of  the  summer  in  a  state  of  blockade, 
owing  to  the  inroads  of  the  ice-fields  from  the  south ;  - 
while  at  Holsteinberg  and  to  the  nortTthe  land  is  per' 
lectly  accessible.  •  , 

^The  drift-wood  is  at  first  entangled  with  these  frozen 
iriasses ;  but  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  it  contin- 
ues  its  way  onward  long  after  tlie  ice  has  left  it.  At 
Egedesminde,  for  instance,  it  is  almost  a  staple  com- 
modity ;  though  in  the  Bay  of  Disco,  where  the  current 
is  controlled  by  .local  causes,  it  is  found  only  in  some 

places.     Our  expedition  met  it  as  high  as  Storoe  Island, 

in  latitude  71°.     . 

When  it  is  remembered  that  this  wood,  coming  from 
the  Atlantic  quarter,  is  the  offcast  of  the  great  Siberian 
and  American  riv6rs,  and  that  the  distant  bay  to  which 
it  travels  has  its  great  discharge  of  water  from  the 
north,  we  can  appreciate  the  importance  of  the  reflex 
current  in  supplying  these  destitute  shores  with  fuel 
and  timber. 

Our  enemies,  the  icebergs— for  we  had  not  yet 

learned  to  regar4  them  as  iriends— made  their  appear- 

ance  again  on  the  Ifftlf.    One  of  them  wa&  an  irreg. 

^lSJ^M?»ngle+ at  Jefist  fl.  ^uarter^ot^  ffiii©^^^ 

its  presenting  face.     Its  summit  reminded  me  of  the 


THE     ARCXic     DAY. 


'61 


crevasses-'  seen  in  the  Alpine  glaciers.     It  was  com- 
pletely cut  up  with  jagged  ridges  and  intervening 
•  hollows,  through  some  of  which  the  water  of  the  sur- 
face drainage  fell  in  little  cascaded. 

The  night.had  now  left  us :  we  were  in  the  contin- 
uous  sunlight  of  the  Arctic' summer.  I  copy  the  en- 
tries from  my  journal  of  the  17th. 

"  We  are  just '  turning  in,'  that  is,  seeking  our  d.en 
for  sleep.     It  has  been  a  long  day,  but  to  me  a  God- 
send, so  clear  and  fogless.     My  time-piece  points  to 
half  past  nine,  and  yet  the  sunshine  is  streaming  do\^n 
^  the  little  hatchway. 

"  Our  Arctic  day  has  commenced.     Last  night  we 
read  the   thermometer  without   a  lantern,  and  the 
binnacle  was  not  lighted  up.     To-day  the  sun  sets 
after  ten,  to  rise  again  before  two;  and  during  the 
bright  twilight  interval  he  will  dip  but  a  few  degrees 
below  the  horizon."    We  have  followed  him  for  some 
time  past  in  one  scarcely  varying  track  of  brightness. 
Ttje  words  night  and  day  begin  to  puzzle  me,  as  I  rec- 
ognize tjhe  arbitrarjj?^  character  of  the  hour  cycles  that 
have  borne  these  names.     Indeed,  I  miss  that  soothing 
tranquillizer,  the  dear  old  darkness,  and  can  hardly,  as 
I  give  way  to  sleep,  bid  the  mental  good-night  which 
travelers  like  to  send  from  their  darkened  pillows  to 
iViends  at  home. 

"Only  one  iceberg  was  seen  to-day.  The  sun  was 
behind  it,  his  Jow  rays  lighting  up  the  sea  with  crim- 
son, and  defining  the  black  shadow  of  the  berg  like  a 
silhouette.  While  we  were  watching  it,  one  of  those 
changes  of  equilibrium,  sq  frequent  in  partially  sub- 
merged ice,  caused  it  first  to  tremble,  and  then  to  roll 
ill  long  oscillatihg  curves.    At^he  same  mmnftnt,  myr-„„ 


iaJs  of  birds,  which  had  roosted  unseen  in  its  inhos- 


'»a.\*'iL.^-if' 


32 


ZONES     OF     MIST. 


pitable  clefts,  rose  into  the  line  of  sunshine,  and  flew 
in  circles  round  their  unstable  resting-place." 

Our  little  vessel  pursued  her  way  without  drawback, 
heading,  as  nearly  as  the  wind  permitted,  for  our  ap- 
pointed rendezvous  with  the  Resdue.     The  zones  of 
discolored  sea,  ^hich  we  met  upon  entering  Baffin's 
Bay,  still  continued,  though  less  frequent  than  further 
to  the  south.     Their  color  varied  from  a  chocolate  to 
a  muddy  green,  and  it  seemed  as  if  their  general  di- 
rection was  governed  by  some  uniform  cause  Hot  di- 
rectly connected  with  superficial  currents.     Of  eight 
belts  which  I  noted,  five  had  a  marked  trend  from  the 
northeast  to  the  southwest.^    It  struck  me  as  remark- 
able, too,  that  the  movements  of  the  acalephae  beneath 
the  surface  were  seldom  in  the  axis  of  the  stream. 
They  crossed  it  obliquely.     May  it  not  be  that  such 
belts  of  discoloration  as  are  visible  at  the  surface  are 
merely  protruding  ridges  of  great,  submerged  ar6as  ? 
My  meteorological  abstract  shows  for  this  period  a 
/  comfortless  alternation  of  fogs,  scanty  sunshine,  and 

j  drizzling  rain.     These  fogs  extended  generally  over  jbl 

I  considerable  surface,  and,  though  not  accompanied  by 

s^ch  changes  of  wind  or  temperature  as  to  at^tract  no- 
P  tice,  had  no  doubt  some  relation  to  the  fishing  shoals 

over  which  we  were  passing.    Sometimes,  however, 

we  entered  continuous  streams  of  mist,  not  exitending 
higher  than  our  cross  trees,  and  emerged  from  them 
again  so  suddenly  as  to  make  me  ascribe  them  to  local 
refrigeration  induced  by  the  neighborhood  of  ice.  The 
'^effect  of  these  fogs  upon  the  diffusion  of  light  was  far 
from  pleaifant.  Our  now  nominal  twilight  reminded 
me  of  a%ri^ht  glare,  subdued  by  aground  glass  screen : 
our  eyes  suffered  more  than  during  the  unobstructed 
_--„ — _-_^ — -^■auaahi-nei^::::^^ -^—~  ..m .t. 


«» 


THE     SUKKERTOPPEN. 


33 


On  the  20th  an  unknown  schooner  came  within  the 
same  dome  of  mist  with  ourselves.  We  had  not  seen 
a  sail  since  leaving  Newfoundland,  and  the  sight 
pleased  us.  We  showed  our  colors,  but  the  little  craft 
declined  a  reciprocation. 

On  the  same,^ay,  juttingr  up  above  the  misty  hori- 
zon,  we  sighted  the  mountainous  coast  of  Greenland. 
It  was  a  bold  antiphrasis  that  gave  such  a  vernal /title 
to  this  birth-place  of  icebergs.  Old  Crantz,  the  quaint- 
est, and,  ill  many  things,  the  mpst  exact  of  the  mis- 
sionary authorities,  says  that  it  got  the  name  from  the 
Norsemen,  because  it  was  greener  than  Iceland— a  poor 
compliment,  certainly,  to  the  land  of  the  Geysers ! 

We  first  made  the  coast  near  Sukkertoppen,  a  re- 
markable  peak,  called  so,  perhaps,  because  its  form  ii^ 
not  unlike  that  of  a  sugar-loaf,  perhaps  because'viS 
top  is  whitened  with  the  snow.  Mountains  that  mark 
their  unbroken  profile  on  the  distant  sky  are  very  apt 
to  suggest  these  fanciful  remembrances  to  the  naviga- 
tor; and  it  is  probably  this  which  makes  their  names 
so  frequently  characteristic. 

This  peak  is  a  noted  lahdmark,  and  gives  its  name 
to  the  entire  district  it  ovferlooks.  Our.  own  observa- 
tions  confirm  those  of  Gr^ah  and  Ross,  which  place  it 
m  latitude  ^5°  22'  north,  longitude  53°  05'  west.  It 
may  be  seen  under  ordinary  circumstai^ces  many  miles 
out  to  sea. 

We  were  favored  in  our  ^neir  of  the  Sukkertoppen. 
We  had  approached  it  through  an  atmosphere' orfog; 
and  when  the  morning  of  the  2$d  gave  us  a  clear  sky' 
we  found  ourselves  close  upon  th%  beach,  so  close  that 
we  could  see  the  white  ^urf  mingling  with  the  snow 
jHt^fe^Aam^ggeaAmlinhospitable  region  never 
met  my  eye.    Its  unyielding  expression  differed  from 


/M-*,     - 


I« 


/ 


34 


THli     SUKKERTOPPEN. 


arty  that  belongs  to  the  recognized  desert,  the  Sahara, 
or  the  South  American  Arridas ;  for  in  these  tropical 
wastes  there  is  rarely  wanting  some  group  of  Euphor- 
bia or  stunted  Gum  Arabt*  trees,  to  qualify  by  their 
contrast  the  general  barrenness.  It  was  startling  to 
see,  beneath  a  smiling  sijn  y,nd  upon  the  level  of  the 
all-fertilizing  sea,  an  entire  country  without  an  ap- 
parent trace  of  vegetable  life. 

The  hills  had  the  peculiar  configuration  that  be- 
longs to  the  metamorphic  rocks,  Their  summits  were 
gnarled  and  torn ;  and  in  the  immediate  foreground, 
some  gneissoid  spurs  of  lesser  elevation  were  so  round- 
ed as  to  resemble  gigantic  bowlders.  The  axis  of  the 
chain  seemed  to.  incline  rudely  from  the  N.N.W.  to  the 
S.S.E.  Its  sides  were  nearly  destitute  of  those  minor 
valleys  that  characterize  the  more  recent  deposits. 
Yet,  even  at  fifteen  miles  distance,  I  could  remark  the 
clean  abrupt  edge  of  the  fractures,  which  creased  their 
otherwise  symmetrical  outline. 

Over  these  hills  the  snow  lay  in  patches,  occupy- 
ing principally  the  protected  and  dependent  grooves. 
But,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  escarped  faces,  too  pre- 
cipitous to  retain  it,  the  various  inclinations  of  the  sur- 
)  lace  appeared  to  be  covered  equally,  without  regard  to 
their  exposure  toward  differ<Jik  points  of  the,  compass. 
Far  off  to  the  south  and  east,  the  glacier  showed  its 
characteristic  pinnacle. 


1 

■ 

H 

^ 

^ 

I 

■ 

■ 

^H^^^^H 

^^^^^^H 

■ 

H 

■1 

tNTKBINO  DlSca 


CHAPTER  V. 

On  the  24th,  the  sun  did  not  pass  Velow  the  horizon. 
We  had  already  begun  to  reahze  that  power  of  adap- 
tation to  a  new  state  of  things,  which  seems  to  be  a 
distinguishing  characteristic  of  man.  "  We  marked  our 
day  by  its  routine.  Though  the  temptation  to  avoid 
a.regular  bed-hour  was  sometimes  irresistible,  yet  sev- 
en bells  always  fourid  us  washing  by  turns  at  our  one 
tin  wash-basin:  at  eight  bells  we  breakfasted;  at 
eight  again  we  called  to  grog ;  two  hours  afterward 
we  met  at  dinner ;  and  at  six  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
we  came  \)jitti  laudable  regularity  to  our  salt  junk  and 
coffee. 

Our  daily  reckoning  kept  us  advised  of  the  recur- 
ring  noonday,  the  meridian  starting-point  of  sea-life ; 
and  our  indefatigable  master  had  his  unvarying  hour 
for  winding  up  and  comparing  the  (;hronometers.  It 
is  hard  not  to  mark  tha  regulated  steps  of  time,  where 
such  a  man-of-war  routine  prevails ;  an^'I  can  scarce- 
ly^miderstand  the^necessity  for  ffie  twenfy-fouFhoui?^ 


J' 


30 


DISCO. 


»*?«*• 


registering  dial-plate,  which  Parry  and  others  cafried 
with  them,  to  avert  the  disastrous  consequences  of  a 
twelve  hours'  skip  in  their  polar  reckonings. 

We  had  now  been  a  month  and  a  day  iut  from  New 
Ybrk.     Our  immediate  destination  was  the  Crown 
Prince  Islands,  more  generally  known  by  the  misno- 
mer  of  the  Whale  Fish.     This  little  group  is  situated 
m  the  Bay  of  Digco,  thirty  miles  south  of  the  island 
of  that  name.    It  is  the  largest  of  three  similar  groups, 
and  seems  to  be  part  of  a  ledge  extending  from  the 
southern  cape  of  Disco  to  the  Bunke  Islands.     Sir 
Edsirard  Parry  ^rveyed  the  entrance  to  them  in  1821, 
and  determined  their  position  very  carefully ;  since 
which  time,  from  the  facilities  which  they  offer  for 
rating  chronometers,  they  have  become  an  established 
resort  for  whalers  and  expedition  ships.     Knowing 
nothing  of  their  character  or  resources,  we  had  looked 
forward  to  them  with  that  sort  of  expectation  which 
sea-tossed  men  attach  to  port.    We  were  not  sorry 
then,  when,  on  the  24th  of  June,  in  the  midst  of  the 
usua|  combination  of  cold  rain  and  fogs,  we  sifted 
some  low  hilly  rocks,  about  which  the  sea-swalli 
and  kittiwake  were  whirling  in  endless  rounds. 
,  As  we  entered  the  narrow  passage  which  fprmed 
our  anchorage,  we  looked  in  vain  for  indications  of 
life.    Water-worn  gneiss,  intersected  by  huge  injec- 
tions  of  feldspar,  made  up  the  entu-e  prospect.    To  the 
eye  every  thing  was  inorganic  ruggednessf    In  one 
or  two  places,  water  distilled  in  drops  over  the  rocks 
and  found  its  way  to  the  sea;  but  there  was  no  veg' 
etation  to  define  its  course,  not  even  the  green  con- 
ferva,  that  obscure  vitality  which  follows  water  at 
home.    It  was  only  after  landing  that  I  became  aware 
-that^thesc-a^areatly-tlestiluUHshtmhrcontrib^ul 


A     KAYACK. 


I     'I 


;iT 


tlieir  part  to  thevvaried  and  peculiar  flora  of  the  Arc 
tic  regions. 

The  entrance  to  the  anchorage  from  the  southwest 
is  between  two  islands,  and  the  harbor,  which  is  eom- 
pletely  sheltered  from  ice,  is  formed,  as  will  be  seen 
from  the  sketch,  by  the  conjunction  of  a  third.     On 
turning  the  corner,  we  suddenly  came  upon  a  wood- 
en storehouse  for  oil  and  skins ;  and  opposite  to  it, 
a  clumsy-looking  collier,  moored  stem  and  stern  by 
hawsers  leading  to  rocks  on  either  side  of  the  channel. 
Soon  after,  we  were  boarded  by  Lieutenant  Power,  of 
the  British  navy,  and  from  him  we  learned  th^t  the 
clumsy  craft  was  the  Emma  Eugenia,  a  provision 
transport  chartered  by  the  Admiralty,  and  that  in  less 
than  a  week  she  would  take-mSf  letters  to  England. 
We  learned,  too,  that  the  British  relief  squadron 
under  CoBumodore  Austin  had  sailed  the  day  before 
for  the  regions  of  searcb.     They  had  left  England  on 
the  6th  of  May,  or  seventeen  days  before  our  own  de- 
parture  from  New  York.    ' 

While  we  were  standing  upon  deck,  waiting  for 
the  boat  to  be  manned  which  was  to  take  us  to  the 
shore,  something  like  a  large  Newfoundland  dog  was 
seen  moving  rapidly  through  the  water.  As  it  ap- 
proached,  we  could  see  a  horn-like  prolongation  bulg- 
ing  from  its  chest,  and  every  now  and  then  a  queer 
movement,  as  of  two  flapping  wings,  which,  acting 
alternately  on  either  side,  seemed  to  urge  it  through 
the  water.  Ahnost  immediately  it  was  alongside  of 
us,  and  then  we  realized  what  was  the  much  talked- 
of  kayack  of  the  Greenlanders. 

It  was  a  canoe-shaped  frame- work,  carefuUy  and  en. 
^f,  <^^Q^gdjjath  tengely-gtr^tchedMaUkina,  bem>- 


in  model,  and  graceful  as  the  nautilus,  to  which 


^ 


^ 


»5> 


<rv'v 


cj«f 


issi. 


<  'i 


38 


\ 

K  A  Y  A  C  K  S. 


-^. 


it  has  been  compared.    Wiith  the  exception- of  an  ellip- 

tical  hole,  nearly  in  its  centre,  to  receive  its  occupant, 

it  was  both  air  and  water  tight.     Into  this  hole  was 

wedged  its  human*  freight,  a  black-locked  Esquimaux, 

enveloped  in  an  undressed  seal-sk|n,  drawn  tightly 

around  the  head  and  wrjgts,  and  fastened,  where  it 

•«iet  the  kayaek,  about  an  elevated  rim  made  ^r  the 

'■^  purpose,  over  which  it  slipped  like  a  bladder  ov6r  the 

^  lip  of  a  jar. 

The  length  of  the  kayaek  was  about  eighteen  feet, 
tapering  fore  and  aft  to  an  absolute  point.  The  beam 
was  but  twenty-one  inches.  When  laden,  as  we  saw 
it,  the  top  or  deck  was  at  its  centre  but  two  inches 
by  measurement  above  the  water-line.  The  waves 
often  broke  Completely  over  it.  A  double-bladed  oar, 
grasped  in  tjie  middle,  was  the  sole  propeller.  It  was 
wondefjSuRo  see  how  rapidly  the  will  of  the  kayacker 
comaft&iicated  itself  to  his  little  bark.  One  impulse 
se^edf  to  control  both.  Indeed^  even  for  a  careful 
Qj)server,  it  was  hard  to  say  where  the  boat  ended  or 
^he  man  commenced ;  the  rider  seemed  one  with  his 
frail  craft,  an  amphibious  realization  of  the  centaur, 
or  a  practical  improvement  upon  the  merman. 

These  boats,  not  only  as  specimens  pf  beautiful  na- 
val architecture,  but  from  their  controlling  influence 
•  upon  the  fortunes  of  their  owners,  became  to  me  sub- 
jects of  careful  study.  I  will  revert  to  them  at  an- 
other time.  As  we  rowed  to  the  shore,  crowds  of  them 
followed  us,  hanging  like  Mother  Carefyjs  chickens  m 
our  wake,  and  just  outside  the  sweep  of  our  oars. 

We  landed  atja  small  cove  formed  by  two  protrud- 
ing masses  of  coarsely  granular  feldspar.  Some  forty 
od d  souls,  the  men,  women,  and  children  of  the  entire 
""settlement,  received  us.     The  men  were  in  the  front^ 


iiinViiwMjwfeiiiii-^ 


THE     LANDING. 


39 


rank ;  the  women,  with  their  infants  on  their  hacks, 
came  next :  and  behind  them,  in  yelling  phalanx,  the 
children.  Still  further  back  were  crowds  of  dogs, 
seated  on  their  haunches,  and  howling  in  unison  with 
their  masters. 

The  one  feeling  which,  I  venture  to  say,  pervaded 
us  all,  to  the  momentary  exclusion  of  every  thing  else, 
was  disgust.  Offal  was  strewn  around  without  regard 
to  position ;  scabs  of  drying  seal-meat  were  gpread  over 
the  rocks ;  oil  and  blubber  smeared  every  thing,  from 
the  dogs'  coats  to  their  masters' ;  animal  refuse  tainted 
all  we  saw;  and  we  afterward  found,  while  botaniz- 
ing  among  the  snow  valleys,  bones  of  the  seaj,  wal- 
rus,  and  whale,  buried  in  the  mosses. 

But  if  filth  characterized  the  open  air,  what  was  it 
in  the  habitations !  One  poor  family  had  escaped  to 
their  summer  tent,  pitched  upon  an  adjacent  rock  that 
overlooked  the  sea.  Within  a  little  area  of  six  feet 
by  ei^it,  I  counted  a  father,  mother,  grandfather,  and 
four  children,  a  tea-kettle,  a  rude  box,  two  rifles,  and 
a  litter  of  puppies.  z 

This  island  is  ^sed  byUe  Danes  as  a  sort  of  fishing 
station,  where  one  European,  generally  a  carpenter  or 
cooper,  presides  over  a  few  families  of  Esquimaux,  who 
live  by  the  chase  of  the  seal.  This  functionary  had 
a  hut  built  of  timber,  which  we  visited,  fixcept  the 
oil-house,  which  we  had  observed  before,  it  was  the 
only  wooden  edifice. 

The  natives,  if  the  an^lgamation  of  Dane  and  Es- 
quimaux  can  be  called  such,  spend  their  summer  in 
the  reindeer  tent,  their  Winters  in  the  semi-subterra-     / 
nean.hut.     These  last  have  not  been  materially  im-    ,■ 
jroved  since  the  days_Qf  Eged6  and  gabrieius.    A 


square  inclosure  of  stone  or  turf  is  raftered  over  with 


-«* 


40 


THE     DWELLNGS. 


d> 


i 


Jv 


drift-wood  or  whalebones,  and  then  roofed  in  with 
earth,  skins,  mosses,  and  broken-jip  kayack  frames. 
One  small  aperture  of  eighteen  inches  square,  cover- 
ed with  the  scraped  intestines  of  the  seal,  forms  the 
window ;  and  a  long,  tunnel-like  6ntry,  opening  to  the 
south,  and  not  exceeding  three  feet  in  height,  lead^/ 
to  a  skin-covered  door.  Inside,  perched  upon  an  efe- 
vated  dais  or  stall,  with  an  earthen  lamp  to  establish 
the  "focus,"  several  families  reside  together.  I  have 
seen  as  many  as  four  in  an  apartment  of  sixteen  feet 
square.  .    , 

Some  of  these  huts  were  garnished  with  little  tin- 
seled pictures,  and  looked  as  if  their  inmates  were  not 
insensible  to  the  decorative  vanities  of  other  lands. 
Others  were  a  very  caricature  of  discomfort — mouldy, 
dank,  and  fetid ;  their  rude  ceilings  distilling  filthy 
water,  and  sometimes  covered  with  introverted  grasses 
{poa  Danica),  which  had  originally  formed  part  of  the 
outer  thatching,  but  now  intruded  upon  the  greater 
warmth  of  the  interior. 

I  had  but  a  few  hours  to  examine  this  group.  It 
evidently  belongs  to  that  class  of  rocky  islets  known 
to  the  Danes  as  "skerries,"  skiers,  which  are  the  not 
unfrequent  appendages  of  a  primary  coast  ridge. 
Well-defined  gneiss,  with  intersecting  veins  of  coarse 
red  feldspar,  was  the  basis  material,  the  quartzine  ele- 
ment greatly  predominating.  From  several  rude  sec- 
tions, I  made  the  dip  of  the  strata  to  the  northeast  to 
be  at  an  angle  of  25°  or  30°. 


v.. 


'-*■''■■■""■>  "PlWI»«il—IMpllM| 


fed  in  with 
Euik  frames, 
uare,  cover- 
I,  forms  the  , 
ening  to  the 
eight,  lead^y 
pon  an  efe- 
to  establish 
er.  I  have 
sixteen  feet 

h  little  tin- 
es were  not 
►ther  lands, 
t — mouldy, 
lling  filthy 
rted  grasses 
part  of  the 
the  greater 

group.  It 
lets  known 
ire  the  not 
aast  ridge, 
is  of  coarse 
irtzine  ele- 
tl  rude  sec- 
ortheaet  to 


X 


■■*iik 


^i- 


rj^B  ixB  i  .1ft 


•^'^ 


V 


'  WHALEFISHf^eiSLES 
(  ;  mnrianmlttnl 


UL 


^' 


'undi'y 


'ffTfe/f  vimltrn) 


JO. 


15' 


r,.r 


.si/jfeicuf'^i  'i 


:i — *- 


t 


tatifor  ffMur/cAi.  Mut  s 


I 


f 


'/aiJj 


V 


ctr 


CIUBT  OF  Till  WUALI-riiU  IILANDS, 


mT'mmmmm 


■  I 


'  1 

i 

,    i 

JO 

^  o 

M 

^ 

«r 

.'V 


CHAPTER  Nl 


t  t 


'■./. 


O&R  commandet  intendefl  to  remain  at  the  Crpwn 
Prince  Islands  no  longer  than  Was  absolutely  neces- 
sary  for  our  consort,  the  Rescue,  to  rejoin  ^ us  j  but, 
upon  reviewing  our  hurried  preparation  for  ike  %ard' 
ships  of  the  winter,  he.  determined,  with  characteristic 
forethought,  to  S6nd  a  boat  party  to  the  settlemWt  of 
Lievely,  on  the  neighboring  island  of  Disco,  Ibr  the 
double  purpose  of  collecting,  information  and  ^urchas- 
ing  a  stock  of  fu  rs.^  The  execution  of  thjs  du^  he  de- 
volved upon  me.  ^  ^.  /J 

We  started  on  the  27th,  Mh  Lovell/ myself,  an  Es- 
quimaux  pilot,  and  a  crew  of  five  menl  As  we  rowed 
along  the  narrow  channels  before  wi\emei-ged  from 
this  rocky  group,  I  observed  for  the  first  tiite  that 
extreme  transpareney^4he^  water  whioki^s^gtroften— 
been  alluded  to  by  authors  as  characteristic  of  sthe  Po- 


i 


.     • 


^•■■vrrifm»,MK'--:'n.<t,mmmvmi 


'^-4- 


W-  44 


LIEV  ELY. 


lar  Seas.     At  the  depth  of  ten  fathoms  every  feature 
*    ^  °  of  the  bottom  was  distinctly  visible. 

Even  for  one  who  has  seen  the  crimson  dulses  and 
coral  groves  of  the  fig*iatorial  zones,  this  arctic  growth 
had  its  rival  beauties.  Enormous  bottle-greejl  fronds 
were  waving  their  ungainly  lengths  above  a  labyrinth- 
ine jungle  of  snake-like  stems ;  and  far  down,  where, 
the  claws  of  the  fucus  had  grappled  the  round  gneis- 
ses, great  glaring  lime  patches  shone  like  upset  white-- 
wash  upon  a  home  grassplot.         , 

It  was  a  rough  sail  outside.  The  bergs  were  nu- 
merous ;  and  the  heavy  sea  way  and  eddying  current, 
sweeping  like  a  mill-race  along  the  southern  face  of 
the  island,  made  us  barely  able  to  double  the  entrance 
to  the  little  harbor.  We  di4  double  it,  however,  and 
by  a  sudden  transition  found  ourselves  in  a  quiet  land- 
locked basin,  shadowed  by  wall-like  hills.     ^ 

Snow,  as  usual,  covered  the  lower  slopes;  but,  cheer- 
ful  in  spite  of  its  cold  envelope,  rose  a  group  of  rude 
houses,  mottling  the  sky  with  the  comfortable  smoke 
of  their  huge  chimneys.  Among  the  most  conspicu- 
ous of  these  was  one  antique  and  gable  fronted,  with 
timbers  so  heavy  and  besmeared  with  tar,  that  it 
seemed  as  if  built  from  the  stranded  wreck  of  a  vessel. 
Little  man-of-war  port-holes,  recessed  into  its  wooden 
sides,  and  a  flag-staff,  as  tall  as  the  mast  of  a  jolly, 
boat,  gave  it  dignity.  This  was  the  house  of  the 
"  fioyal  Inspector  of  the  Northern  portions  of  Davis's 
Straits ;"  whose  occupant — well  and  kindly  remem- 
bered by  all  of  us— no  less  than  the  royal  inspector 
himself,  stood  awaiting  our  landing. 

There  are  but  two  inspectorates  for  the  Danish  coast 
ofGreenland :  one  termed  the  Southern,  whose  cen 


treats  Hdlsteinberg;  the  other  the  Northern,  whose 


4i^ 


k 


MR.   OLITIK. 


45 


IS  every  feature 


e  Danish  coast 


seat  is  Lievely.  The  representatives  of  these  are  ed- 
ucated  men,  hard-workin^  and  responsible,  ruling  die- 
tatorially  the  entire  affairs  of  that  somewhat  singu- 
lar monopoly,'  the  Royal  Greenla,nd  Company.  The 
official  labor  of  these  exiled  servants  is  very  heavy 
They;  boat  or  sledge  it  from  post  to  post ;  and  not  only 
settle  all  the  squabbles,  white,  half-breed,  and  Esqui- 

'  maux,  but  audit  all  the  accounts,  and  keep^p  between 
the  little  settleinents  writing  enough  to  rule  a  realm. 
Except  that  every  where  forlorn  peripatetic,  the  doc- 
tor, no  one  nas  a  more  toilsome  office. 

The  incumbent,  Mr.  Olrik,  was  an  accomplish^  and 
hospitable  gentleman,  well  read  in  the  natural  sci- 
ences, and  an  acute  observer.  In  a  few  miriutes 
we  were  seated  by  a  ponderous  stove,  and  in  a  few 

.  more  discussing  a  hot  Eider  duck  and  a  bottle  of  La- 
tour. 

Upon  commencing  my  negotiations  as  to  furs,  the 
object  of  my  journey,  I  learned, that  the  reindeer  do 
not  abound  on  the  island  of  Disco  as  in  the  days  of 
Crantz  and  Egede ;  though  to  the  south,  about  Bunke 
Land,  and  the  fiords  around  Holsteinberg,  and  to  the 
north  of  the  Waigat,  they  are  still  very  numerous. 
Nevertheless,  by  drumming  up  the  resources  of  the 
settlement,  we  obtained  a  supply  of  second-hand  late 
summer  skins ;  and  with  these,  aided  by  the  seal,  soon 
fitted  out  a  wardrobe. 

The  most  popular-  article  of  attire  was  the  karah, 
a  "jumper"  of  close  jacket,  slipping  on  like  a  shirt, 
and  hooded  like  the  cowl  of  a  Franciscan  monk;  but 
the  seal-skin  boot,  a  water-tight  buskin,  ingeniously 
crimped,  so  as  to  do  away  with  a  seam,  was  in  great 
i^,q"Q«*-    Thanks^  to  Mr.  Olrik.  who  ^actually  robbed 


irthemTwhose^    himself  to  supply  our  wants,  we  were  eminently  suc- 


.  \ 


46 


«      \\  D  I  S  C  O. 


cessfui.     We  felt  tjhiat  we  could  now  look  forward  to 
the  winter  with  compaKativie  trust. 


■") 


ESQUIMAUX  HUT. 


Of  Disco,  save  ifs  Esquimaux  huts,  its  oil-house, 
its  smith-shop,  its  little  school,  and  its  gubernatorial 
mansion,  I  can  say  but  little.  Its  statistics,  vital,  po- 
litical, or  economic,  would  have  little  interest  for  the 
readers  of  this  narrative.  '  But  my  limited  florula,  gath- 
ered as  I  made  afew  hasty  walks  under  the  guidance 
of  our  hospitable,  and  intelligent  friend,  the  governor, 
may  be  worth  a  notice. 

In  a  ravine,  back  of  the  settlement,  the  washings 
of  the  melted  snows  had  accumulated,  in  little  es- 
calades or  terraces,  a  scanty  mould,  rich  with  Arctic 
growths. 

The  mosses,  which  met  the  lichens  at  a  sort  of 
neutral  ground  between  rock  and  soil,  were  particu- 
larly rich.  So  sodden  were  they  with  the  percolating 
waters,  that  you  sank  up  to  your  ankles.  Nestling 
curiously  under  their  protecting  tufts  rose  a  complete 
parterre  ofjinted  flowers,  consisting  of  Gentians,  Ra- 
nunculjHfJ^edum,  Draba,  Potentilla,  Saxifrages,  Pop- 
py,w«^  Sedums. 

TheTLrctlc  turris*  linequaled  f  hotHThg"!]!  the  trop- 


DIS(P0. 

« 


47 

ic8  approaches  it  for  stecifi(l  variety,  and  in  density  it 
far  exceeds  its  Alpine  c^ngeier.  Two  birche^g ;«/« 
alba  ^nAB.nana),  threeWillUs  {Salix  lanata,  S.glau- 
ca,  and  S.  herhaieff),  that  noble  heat^,  the  Andromeda 
{A.  tetragona),  the  whortle-bUy  ( Vaccinium  vitis-idcm 
and  V.  uhginosum),  the  crU-berry  {Empetrum  ni- 
grum),  and  a  PotentiUa,  Mere,  in  one  instance,  all 
wreathed  together  in  a  matted  sod,  frpm  whose  intri- 
cate  net-work,  rising  within  ^i  area  of  a  single  foot,  I 
counted  no  less  than  six  spejsies  of  floweringVants.' 

The  appearance  of  siich  tulrf,  where  the  tree  growths 
of  more  favored  regions  have  become  pronafe  and^ine- 
like,  and  crowding  individiijris  of  non-opposing  fami- 
lies of  flowering  plants  fill  up  the  intervals  with  a  car- 
pet  pattern  pf  rich  colors,  m%ht  puzzle  a  painter.  It 
reminded  mp  of  Humboldt's  covering  with  his  cloak 
the  vegetation  of  four  continents.  / 

This  little  port  of  Lievely  (|r  Godhavn  is  on  a  gneis- 
sold  spur,  offsetting  from  the  larger  mass  of  Disco.     I 
jiul^oin^^th©- few  observations  which  I  was  able  to 
make  on  the  physical  characters  of  this  island. 

Disco  is  the  largest  circunlnavigable  island  on  the 
coast  of  Greenland.     Its  loitg  diameter  is  from  the 


northwest  to  southeast,  and 


continuous  Ime  with  the  coas^  to  the  north  and  south 


its  eastern  edge  is  in  a 


large  strait,  called  the 


It  is  rendered  insular  by  a 

Waigat,  which  inosculates  ^^th  the  bay. 

Its  general  geognostical  structure  is  determined  by 
a  great  green-stone  dike  which  crosses  its  entire  length, 
and  is  continued  conformably  across  the  Waigat.  As 
neatly  as  I  could  arrive  at  it,  the  general  trend  of  this 
mjection  was  to  the  E.N.E.,  which,  when  afterward 
compared  with  the  northern  Labrador  and  GrP^nland 


coast,  seemed  to  indicate  a  correspondence  with"  the 


^' 


_; 


f-    ^(U, 


-■ u■^aaia^fa4■«■^•^^.'-U-/      •   . 


48 


DISCO. 


/ 


line  of  uplift  of  the  Lake  Superior  traps.  To  the 
southeast,  it  cuts  a  ledge  of  syenitic  gneiss,  leaving  a 
knobbed  peninsula,  abounding  in  low  islands  and  har- 
bors, on  one  of  which  is  the  little  settlement  of  Lievely. 

I  had  not  many  hours  to  devote  to  this  rude  recon- 
noissance,  much  of  which  was  aided  by  bird's-eye 
views  from  the  adjacent  peaks.  Commencing  at  the 
southeastern  end  of  the  island,  and  walking  to  the 
N.N.W.,  I  met  abundant  schistose  material,  inclining 
to  the  northeast  at  an  angle  of  25°.  Against  this  the 
dike  cut  cleanly,  with  little  adjacent  alteration,  ris- 
ing up  from  its  long,  conoidal  slopes  of  detritus  into 
escarped  terraces  nearly  1400  feet  high.  These  were 
like  ^;he  Hindoo  Ghauts,  as  I  had  seen  them  about 
Kandalah ;  they  had  the  same  monumental  structdre, 
the  same  plateau-formed  summit,  the  same  sublime  ra- 
vines. How  strangely  this  crust  we  wander  over  as- 
serts its  identity  through  all  the  disguises  of  climate ! 

Some  five  miles  further  to  the  east,  the  injection 
had  caused  more  disturbance.  My  walk  upon  this 
line  was  soon  varied  with  chloritic  and  slaty  indica- 
tions ;  and,  where  these  met  the  traps,  they  were  in- 
terfused with  sandstones,  and  abounding  with  coarse- 
ly vesicular  amygdaloids.  In  this  transitional  belt  I 
picked  up  some  fine  zeolites.  I  noticed,  too,  nodular 
epidotes  in  profusion. 

So  much  for  Disco.  Paul  Zachareus,  long-haired, 
swarthy,  Christian  Paul,  said  that  the  wind  was  fair: 
Lovell,  like  a  good  sailor,  exercised  his  authority  over 
the  doctor :  the  furs  were  packed,  my  sketches  and 
wet  hortus  siccus  properly  combined,  and  we  started 
again  for  our  little  brig. 

We  left  the  Whale-fish  Islands  on  the  29th,  in  com- 
panyuyith  theBescne.    Qn^the  30th  wo  doubled^e^ 


-jfliJSr-v. 


DISCO. 


49 


southwest  cajie  of  Disco,  and  stood  to  the  northward, 
through  a  croyd  of  noble  icebergs.  On  the  first  of 
July,  early<-in  the  morning,  we  encountered  our  first 
field-ice.  From  this  date  really  commenced  the  char- 
acteristic  voyaging  of  a  Polar  cruise. 

V 


) 


"^" 


Ij 


'V 


oMiNAK'a  ridiD. 


CHAPTER  Vn.i 


It  will  be  readily  seen,  that  of  the  voytiges  to  Lan- 
caster  Sound,  or  indeed  any  of  the  northwestern  seas 
of  Baffin's  Bay,  the  transit  of  the  middle  ice  is  the 
essential  feature.  Its  several  "crossings"  have  been 
divided  into  the  South,  the  Middle,  and  the  Northern 
passages.  By"  the  first  of  these,  vessels  reach  the 
American  side  south 'of  68°.  Any  passage  between 
this  parallel  and  74°  is  called  a  "Middle"  passage; 
while  the  "Northern,"  which,  early  in  the  season,  is 
the  almost  universal  track,  skirts  thp  coast  of  Green- 
land, and,  passing  the  accumulated  shore  ices  of  Mel- 
ville Bay,  bears  to  the  westward  through  a  cbfflpara- 
tively  iceless  area,  known  a&  the  North  Water. 

The  Southern  passage^  is  not  unfrequently  resorted 
to  for  the  fisheries  of  the  American  coast.  It  is  the  al- 
ternative, of  the  whalers  late  in  the  season,  when  they 
have  failed  to  reach  their  western  cruising  grounds  by 
the  North  Water: . 

Instances  of  the  Middle  passage  are  rare.  Old  le- 
gends, preserved  at  Uppernavik,  speak  vaguely  of  a 
period  wheh  a  direct  communication  existed  jiet ween 


MiU^' , 


^fe 


THE    MIDDLE    ICE. 


5i 


that  settlement  and  Pond's  Bay;  but  Parry  was  the 
first  n^odern  navigator  to  attempt  it  successfully.  In 
his  voyage  of  1819.  he  entered  the  Middle  Ice  on  the 
21st  of  July,  and  emerged  from  it  on  the  28th.     He 


tried  the  ex 
after  many 
to  the  nort: 
of  the  west 
Other  ill 


It  again  in  the  July  of  1824;  but, 
|Iay,  was  forced  to  turn  his  head 
did  not  reach  the  open  watem 
I  of  September.  ^ 

v  .  .W     r   ^^  '**"^®  occurred  of  like  suocM; 

but  among  the  whalers,  who  possess  an  admirable 
tact  in  ice  navigation,  it  is  looked  upon  with  distrust. 
Later  m  the  season,  when  the  disintegration  of  the 
middle  barrier  has  advanced,  and  the  predominant 
winds  have  opened  it  into  transverse  "leads,"  the  pas- 
sage,  though  far  from  easy  or  certain,  is  more  practica- 

ble.  ts  sr      y 

It  is  by  the  "North  Water,"  however,  that  vessels 
have  generally  approached  the  highway  of  Arctic 
search ;  and,  in  order  to  reach  this,  a  mysterious  re- 
gion  of  terrors  must  be  traversed— Melville  Bay- 
notorious  in  the  annals  of  thej^ers  for  its  many 
disasters.  ^iw^ 

After  the  voyage  of  Sir  John  Ross  in  1818,  the  fish 
ing  fleet,  which  had  even  then  nearly  driven  the  whale 
beyond  the  coasts  of  Greenland,  began  to  follow  him  to 
the  more  western  waters  of  the  bay.    Vessels  reach- 
mg  the  other  side  were  at  that  time  almost  sure  of  a 
cargo;  and  it  was  not  uncomUn  to  see  more  than  ' 
thirty  sail,  of  many  nations,  English,  French,  and  Bal- 
tic,  awaitiug  at  one  time  a  favoring  opportunity  for  this 
dreaded  transit.    It  was  called  running  the  gauntlet 
and  the  opening  scene  of  the  exploits  was  generaJlv  * 
known  as  the  "Devil's  Nip."  ' 


4i-»*»M  for  this  region,  then7wewer«  mating  when 


// 


/ 
/' 


-% 


rT^*-'-.'-^^    iJ 


/:/ 


i^. 


fii 


52 


THE    MIDDLE    ICE. 


^^■■ 


P 


we  first  fell  in  with  the  ice.  It  was  ofi"  Haroe  Island, 
and  consisted  probably  of  ,a.  tongue  or  process  from 
the  main  pack  I  have  just  described.  Such  interrup- 
tions are  not  uncommon  earlier  in  the  season,  and  the 
whalers  sometimes  avoid  them  by  passing  to  the  in- 
ner oi:  inshore  side  of  the  island.  We  learned  after- 
ward to  regard  such  ice  as  hardly  worthy  of  note ;  but 
as  this  was  the  first  time  we  had  met  it,  I  have  thought 
it  best  to  quote  literally  from  my  journaL 

^^July  1.  This  morning  was  called  on  deck  at  4  A.M. 
by  our  commander. 

"About  two  hundred  yards  to  the  windward,  form- 
ing a  lee-shore,  was  a  vast  plane  of  undulating  ice,  in 
povvise  differing  from  that  which  we  see  in  the  Dela- 
ware when  mid-winter  is  contending  with  the  ice- 
boats. There  was\the  same  crackling,  and  grinding, 
and  splashing,  but  the  indefinite  extent — an  ocean  in- 
stead of  a  river — multiplied  it  to  a  din  unspeakable ; 
and  with  it  came  a  strange  undertone  accompaniment, 
a  not  discordant  dro|ii^.  This  was  the  floe  ice ;  per- 
haps a  tongue  from  th^  '  Gf eat  Pack,'  through  which 
we  are  now  every  day  eXpectjj^g  to  force  our  way.  A 
g(reat%uinber  ol"  bergs,  pf  shapes  the  most  simple  and 
most  complicated,  of  colorg  blue,  white,  and  earth- 
stained,  were  tangled  in  ^^ws  floating  field.  Such, 
however,  was  the  inertia  of  tliff'huge  musses,  that  the 
sheet  ice  piled  itself  up  about  ihem  as  on  fixed  rocks. 

"  The  sea  immediately  around,  saving  the  ground- 
swell,  was  smooth  as  a  mill-pond  ;  but  it  was  studded 
over  with  dark,  protruding  little  globules,  about  the 
size  of  hens'  eggs,  producing  an  effect  like  the  dimples 
of  so  many  overgrown  ra%i-drops  falletf  on  the  water, 
as  I  afterward  found,  were  rounded  fragment^ 


piese, 
^tran 


transparent  ftnd  ifesh.wa^r  iee^r 


% 


THE    MIDDLE    ICE. 


^:i;{ 


m. 


tritus  of  the  bergs.     We  saUed  along  this  field  about 
ten  miles. 

"At  9  P.M.  the  fogs  settled  aroui&  us,  and  we  en- 
tered  again  upon  an  area  full  of  floating  masses  of 
berg.  As  It  was  impossible  to  avoid  them,  they  gave 
us  some  heavy  thumps.  Taking  our  main-mast  for  a 
guide,  we  estimated  the  height  of  the  larger  bergs  at 
about  two  hundred  feet. 

"At  11  we  cleared  the  floes,  and,  favored  with  a  free 
wmd  found  ourselves  nearly  opposite  Omenak's  Fiord 
a  noted  seat  of  iceberg  growth  and  distribution  "        ' 

1  y.T  1  ^.  "^^^i^*^"^  in  the  atmosphere  of  these 
latitudes  that  makes  the  estimate  of  distance  falla. 
cious.     How  far  we  were  from  land  I  could  not  tell  • 
but  we  saw  distinctly  the  configuration  of  the  hills 
and  the  deep  recesses  of  the  fiord.     The  sun,  although 
nearing  midr^jght,  was  five  degrees  above  the  horizon 
and  threw  its  rich  coloring  over  the  snow.     Many 
arge  bergs  were  moving  in  procession  from  the  fiord 
those  in  the  foreground  in  full  sunshine,  those  in  the 
distance  obscured  by  the  shadow  of  their  parent  hills. 
Oraenaks  Fiord,  known  m  Jacob's  Bight,  is  one 
of  the  largest  of  those  strange  clefts,  which,  peneira- 
ting  the  mountain  range  at  right  angles  to  its  long 
axis,  form  so  majestic  a  feature  of  Greenland  sc'enery 
Its  inland  termination  ha^  never  been  reached ;  and 
It  IS  supposed  by  Scpresby  to  be  continuous  with  the 
large  sounds,  which  on  a  corresponding  parallel  (70° 
40')  enter  from  the  eastern  coast.* 

This  idea  of  an  inosculation,  or  even  more  direct 
connection  between  the  waters  of  Baflin's  Bay  and  the 


\ 


54 


OMENAK  S    FIORD. 


Atlantic,  is  entertained  by  many  of  the  more  intelli- 
gent Danish  and  Esquimaux  residents.  It  is  certain 
that  on  the  Atlantic  coast  a  deep  seh,  current  drives 
the  icebergs  seaward;  and  strong  tidal  currents  on 
the  Greenland  side  are  spoken  of  by  the  Danes.  The 
Esquimaux,  too,  whose  information,  however,  must  be 
received  with  caution,  assert  the  existence  of  a  well- 
marked  indraft.  All  this  points  vaguely  to  an  interior 
water  connection  between  the  two  coasts. 

Both  Ovinde  Oerme  and  Omenak's  Fiord,  the  two 
largest  indentations  of  the  bay,  form  at  their  mouths 
a  complicated  archipelago ;  a  fact  that  lends,  at  least, 
a  certain  support  to  Sir  Charles  Geiseke's  opinion,  that 
the  sO-called  peninsula  of  Greenland  is  a  congeries  of 
islands,  cemented  by  interior  ice.  I  will  mention  at 
another  portion  of  my  narrative  the  exceptions  which 
I  take  to  a  full  acceptation  of  this  view.  But  a  stronger 
indication  of  the  direct  connection  between  this  strait 
and  the  Atlantic  may  be  derived  from  the  geognostic- 
al  characters  of  the  two  coasts. 

The  southern  side  of  the  large  opening  before  us 
rose  in  a  green-stone  escalade,  a  series  of  true  trachyL 
ic  terraces,  losing  themselves  in  the  distance ;  whi^ 
On  the  northern  side  the  formation  was  evidently  pri- 
mary and  schistose.  This  corresponds  with  the  ar- 
rangement described  by  Scoresby  on  the  Atlantic 
coast. 

I  had  observed  the  green-stone  extending  in  un- 
broken continuity  from  the  southern  cape  of  Disco 
(C  jiearsak)  across  the  "Waigat;  and  though  my 
sources  of  information  were  limited,  I  had  little  doubt 
but  that  it  passed  along  the  promontory  of  Bittenbank 
to  the  so-called  main,  abutting  throughout  upon  waters 
-of  the  sound;    A  similar  Tange ir ileseribed 


O  M  E  N'  A  K  '  S    FIORD. 


55 


by,  nearly  opposite  on  the  Atlantic  site,  as  two  thou, 
sand  six  hundred  feet  high,  "f(ltming  ledges  not  unlike 
steps,  on  a  gigantic  scale,"  evidently  a  continuation  of 
the  same  diorkic  series ;  while  the  syenites  and  strat- 
ified gneisses  to  the  north  have  their  corresponding  rel- 
ative  positions  on  both  coasts.         ' 

It  is  up  this  fior^,  probably  in  the  chasms  of  the 
trap,  that  those  enormous  glaciers  accumulate  which 
have  mad«  Jacob's  Bight,  perhaps,  the  most  remarka- 
ble  locality  in  the  genesis  of  icebergs  on  the  face  of 
the  globe.  I|is  not  uncommon  to  have  the  shore  here 
completely  blocke^  in  by  these  gigantic  monsters:  I 
myself  counted  in  one  evening,  the  3d  of  July,  no  less 
than  two  hundred  and  forty  of  primary  magnitude, 
from  the  decks  of  our  vessel.  The  inquiri^  I  was 
enabled  to  make  may  perhaps  throw  some  light  on  the 
causes  of  this  excessive  accumulation. 


ling  before  us 


ffm. 


■V* 


sBSif^-i 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  glaciers  which  abut  upon  this  sound  are  prob- 
ably offsets  from  an  interior  mer  de  glaee.  The  val- 
leys or  canals  which  conduct  these  offsets  were  de- 
scribed to  me  as  singularly  rectilinear  and  uniform  in 
diameter,  a  fact  which  derives  ready  confirmt^tion  from 
the  known  configuration  of  a  dioritic  country.  Now 
the  protrusion  of  these  abutting  faces  into  the  waters 
of  the  sound  has  been  a  subject  of  observation  among 
both  Danes  and  Esquimaux.  Places  about  Jacob's 
Harbor,  remembered  as  ^he  former  seats  of  habitation, 
are  now  overrun  by  glaci^s ;  and  Mr.  Olrik  told  me  of 
:i  naked  escarpment  of  ice,  twelve  hundred  f^et  high, 
which  he  had  se^en  protruding  nearly  half  a  mile  into 
the  sea.  \ 

Crantz  and  Graah  describe  similar  protrusions  to 
the  south.  In  the  conditions  which  I  have  just  de- 
SicfTbed,  of  a  TPctilineBin3uc!f  ofun-rafying^^Mietwr 


^RMAT^N  /OF    ICEBERGS.  57 

and  a  parent  source  of  grMt  elevation  and  extent,  we 
have  an  explanation  of  the  excessive  aidvance  of  these 
glaciers.  But  the  exist^ce  of  an  interior  reservoir  or 
fountain  head,  as  the  source  from  which  this  protrud- 
'  mg  supply  IS  furnished  has  an  interesting  bearing 
upon  Forbes'  beautifully  .i„,ple  viewsof  a  viscouf 
movement.  ,  -  "^va^ub 

■  ■  That  rach  a  movement  takes  pl*»  in  t^  Gjeen- 
land  glaciers,  I  have,  as  I  hope  to  show  hereS 
ample  reasons  forbeh-eving;  and,  afttough  the  ^Z'. 
lute  rate  of  this  advanee  has  ne^er  been  a  subject  of 
educated  observation,  it  would  not  surprise  meTf  thl 
geUd  flow  of  these  glacial  rive«  exceTd  d"w  he 
summer  season  that  of  the  Alps 

The  materials  thus  aflbrded  in  redundant  profusion 
are  rapidly  converted  into  icebergs.    The  wafer  aTthe 
bases  of  hese  cliffs  is  very  deep-I  have  in  my  note 
book  well-established  instances  of  three  hundZ^tt 
oms;  and  the  pyramidal  structure  of  the  trap  is  such 
m  to  favor  a  precipitous  coast  line.    The  glacier  thn, 
exposed  to  a  saline  water  base  of  a  tempemtZ  aWe 
he  freezing  point,  and  to  an  undermininsfflvavrac 
.tion,  aided  by  tides  and  winds,  is  of  coX^odX" 
detached  by  mfij^n  gravitation.    I  am  enaSS 
If/'^"y  "'-"We  account  of  this  rarely,  wit^fsld 
^gh,thecr.atl^C^ieeherghy.i„r::^, 

Up  this  fiord,  A  an  island  known  ii^  SsOnin-nv 

ttZriGr^TV^"  "^^'"'  ""^"S^rf 
ZL  Tl     T         Company,  a  worthyman  by  the' 
name  of  Gruudeitz.   It  seems  that  the  deep  warof 
Ctoenaks  Fiord  is  resorted  to  for  halibut  fishinTah 
Zrltl''"''Li'  ''^i  »"  "'  *•>«  base  of  tt^ 


/ 


0 


««rionrtinwdf  wfisroboneT-^le  Mr!%^ 


4^ 


^% 


© 


'%^ 


t 


s 


■',  # 


"tit:*  — '^ 


1 


HON 


dltz,  in- a;jcd^toal^longji|gjo  the  colpiy,  ^a» 
sniEg  up  thf  m^^      hl^^tittenfioiif  was^  called  to  a  1 


fisSp^  up  tttf  pjrd,  h^«itten!ioi1r  wasv called  to  «.  large 
nii^i^t  of  t)«|^id  seals,  wliW'^re  sporting,  c^ut  b6-/ 
feeati  one  ofthggl'^e?|  #at  pr6tri|tp  bay. 

WbiM  ipproacffit'g  p'  |Pjj|iT|^  ^  i^V^e  hearA  . 
a  stt^nge  soun(|,repii||^ati|tefvt^^ 
of^  ^k,  and  app^ntfy 'ptoi^feding  from'the  bp^dy 
|i%ie  ice.  At  the  same  time  the  .seal,  which  the  mo- 
Irieiit  before  had  been  perfectly  unconcerned,  disap- 
peared entirely,  and  hik  Esquimaux  attendants,  prob- 
ably admonished  by  previous  experience,  insisted  upon 
removing  the  boat  to  a  greater  distance.  It  was  well 
they  did  ^o;  for,  while  i^zing  at  the  white  face  of 
the  glacier  at  a  distance  of  about  a  mile,  a  loud  ex- 
plosive detonation,  like  thel<^ack  of  a  whip  vastly  ex- 
aggerated, reached  their  ears,  and  at  the  same  instant, 
with  .reverberations  like  niar  thunder,  a  great  mass 
fell  into  the  sea,  obscuring  every  thing  in  a  cloud  of 
foam  and  mist. 

J  The  undulations  which  Tadiat^d  from  this  great 
centre  of  displacement  were  fearful.  Fortunatel)i  for 
Mr.  Grundeitz,  floating  bodies  do  hot  change  their 
position  very  readily  under  the  action  of  propagated 
waves,  and  the  boat,  in  consequence,  remained  outside 
the  grindu^g  fragments;  but  the  commotioh  was  in- 
tense, andUhe  rapid  succession  of  huge  swells  such  as 
to  make  tne  preservation  o£ the  little  party  almost  mi- 


raculous. 

.    The  detached  mas§  s 
minutes,  but  it  w 
its  equilibrium. 


berg.*x 


i»  applied  by 


ua..    I  restrict  it  to  detached  i 


adjusted  itself  after  some 

hour  before  it  attained 

oated  on  tUe  sea,  an  ice- 

listinction  to  the  glacis  of  ice  tii  tUu. 


(i 


'^ 


icEi?fciios.        ': 


59     „ 


^  The  mass  thus  detached  appea/ed,  from  the  descrip- 
tion  of  my  informant,  to  be  a  nearly  compjeteparallel. 
opipedon.  It  measured,  by  rude  estimate,  three  hund. 
red  yards  on  its  exposed  face,  by  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  m  breadth ;  its  height  ^bove  the  sea  "  greater  , 
than  that  of  our  main-mast." 

The  leading  circumstances  of  this  narrative  were 
confirmed  m  our  owi^J^fter  experience  in  Melville  Bay.' 
Disruptions  are  witnessed  not  unfrequently  in  icebergs 
after  they  are  afloat,  and  sometimes  on  a  majestL 
scJale.    Instances  of, the  flfc^oc/e^re  more  rare.  - 

yul^  2.  The  next  day  we  passed  this  fiocd  and 
stood  on  our  course  beyond  an  imposing  headland, 
khowft  on  tffe  charts  as  Cape  Cranstown,  through  a 
sea  unobstructed  by  floe  ice,  but  abounding  in  bergs 

In  the  afternodn  the  wind  subsided  into  a  mere     ' 
cats-paw,  and  we  were  enabled  to  visit  several  of  the 
icebergs.     I  am  amused  with  the  embarrassments 
.S    "^M^T^  exhibits  in  the  effort  to  describe 
Vmk    •J^np  IS  that.no  objects  ever  impressed 
me  more.  ^^he%  ^as  something  abou^  them  so  slmn. 
berops  and  so  pure,  sq.jnassive  yet  so  evanescent,  so    ' 
^ajesticin  their  cheeSess  beajrty,  t^thijut,  after  all, 
any.of  lie  salient  points  whick  give  char^ter  to  ^el 
g^ption^th^tth^,^lmost^Jmed  to  me  the  mate- 
f^^'T!^'^^^"'^  «J^  things  WbeTdefihitely- 


■'.\  ."■    ■. 


f  ' 


.    N 


^ 


60 


The  first  that  we  approached  was  entirely  inaccess- 
ible: Our  comiti,aHder,  in  whose  estimates  of  distance 
and  magnitude  I  have  great  confidence,  made  it  nearly 
a  mile  in  circumference.  With  the  exception  of  one 
rugged  corner,  it  was  in  shape  a  truncated  wedge,  and 
its  surface  a  nearly  horizontal  plateau.  The  next  pre- 
sented a  well-marked  characteristic,  which^  as  I  ob- 
served it  afterward  in  other  examples,  enabled  me  to 
follow  the  history  of  the  berg  throughout  all  its  changes 
of  equilibrium :  it  was  a  rectili^^r  groove  at  the  water- 
line,  hollowed  out  by  the  action  of  the  waves. 

These  "  grooves"  were  seen  in  all  the  bergs  which 
had  remained  long  in  one  position.  They  jvere  some- 
times crested  with  fantastic  serratures,  and  their  tun- 
nel-like roofs  were  often  pendant  with  icicles.  On  a 
grounded  berg  the  tides^may  be  accurately  guaged  by , 
tiiese  lines,  and,  in  the  berg  before  me,  a  number  of 
them,  converging  to  a  point  not  unlike  the  rays  of  a 
fan,  pointed  clearly  to  those  changes  of  equilibrium 
which  had  depressed  one  end  and  elevatpd  the  othei^ 
-- A  third  was  a  monsljqr  ice  'mountaiffj  at  lep,st  two 
hundred  feet  high,  irregularly  polyhedral  in  shape, 
and  its  surface  diversified  with  hifi  and  dale.  ;^pon 
this  one  we  landed.  I  had  never*  appreciated  before 
tter  glorious  "varietjrijf  iceberg  scenery,  ^he  seerat^ 


the  base  of  this  berg  was  dashing  into  hollow  caves 


•\ 


■  -'-":^[?^  pta.J!SP..L    '■!/;■. 


0  hollow  oaves 


ICEBERGS. 


; 


61 


of  pure  and  intense  ultramarine;  and  to  leeward  the 
quiet  water  lit  the  eye  down  to  a  long,  spindle-shaped 
root  of  milky  whiteness,  which  seemed  to  dye  the 
sea  as  it  descended,  untH  the  blue  and  white  were 
mixed  m  a  pale  turkois.  Above,  and  high  enough  to 
give  an  expression  akin  to  sublimity,  were  bristling 
crags.  ® 

This  was  tfle  first  berg  that  I  had  visited.  I  was 
struck  with  Its  peculiar  opacity,  the  result  of  its  gran- 
ulated  stoucture.    I  had  incidentaUy  met  with  the 

of  ^ev.  "-1?'".Tt"  *'"'  ""'*  P^"  "''he  natufe 
ot  nev^,    and,  while  I  was  at  a  distance,  had  loAed 

with  the    firn    or  consolidated  snow  of  the  Alpine  gla- 

ciers.    I  now  found  cause,  for  the  first  tiih'e,  to  chaLe 

this  opinion.    The  ice  of  ks  berg,  although  ZZ 

md  vesicular  was  true  glacK  ice,  having  the  ftaSr" 

lustre,  and  other  external  characters  of  a  nearl^  W 

geueous  growth     The  same  authority,  in  speaki.ro* 

these  bergs  declares  that  "the  occurrence  of  true  ice 

IS  comparatively  rare,  and  is  justly  dreaded  by  hips  " 

From  this  impression,  which  was  undoubtedl/defi 

from  the  appearance  of  a  berg  at  a  distance,  I  ai^ 

compelled  to  dissent.     The  icebere  is  true  ™  IT^ 

always  dreaded  by  ships.    Indeed  fhoughmS'ieA'; 

night,  the  Polar  glacier  must  be  regarded  as  strictlv 

XtomT"?  '""T"'^'  "'"'  "°*  e-ntL  ;'df! 
mm  trom  the  glacier  of  the  Alps 

Fhe  general  color  of  a  berg  I  have  before  compared 
t«„l       i"'™'-     ^"*  "■•«"  "^  '■""'toes  are  yZ^. 


K. 


^*>.rww„i<.^e^pt^„— :.r^ 


%i 


"  «» 


'  ICEBERGS. 

fractured  bergsurfaoe.  It  reminded  me  of  the  recent 
c\ea\Q000Sm0a^  of  ||ront;ian — a  resemblance  more 
striking  from  the.  slightly  lazulitic  tinge  of  each.- 

-:  m  .  ■ 


yr- 


•  I 


A 


^i 


^     "  CHAPTER  IX.    . 

We  pursued mir  way,  flapping  lazily  along  side  of 
the  "pack,"  and  sometimes  forcing  an  opening  through 
its  projecting  tongues.  On  the  morning  of  th^  3d, 
while  heating  between  the  ice  and  the  shore,  we  steod 
^lose  in  to  a  lofty  headland,  known  as  Svartehuk,  or 
Blacli  Head.  This  dark  promontory  deserves  its 
name.  It  js  of  the  usual  metamorphic  structure,  ow- 
ing  its  color  to  the  hornblende  it  contains.  The  re- 
treating character  of  the  coast  to  the  nortf^W  south 
of  it,  makes  it  a  noted  landmark  among'tli^S^s. 
At  the  distance  of  three  miles,  I  sketched  an  escarped 


1^ 


section  of  it,  discolored  by  irdn-clay  conglomerates,  and 
-exhibiting  a  gnarled^  ami  irrepfar  striTcture. 


i._ 


>  -^i-^i^^i 


ni 


REFRACTION. 


Oiir  American  birth-day,  the  4th  of  July,  could  not 
pass  us  without  at  least  a  festive  eHbrt;  so  we  tap- 
ped a  bottle  of  Heidsieck  ii»  the  cabin,  and  all  hand^s 
spliced  tha  main-brace.  But  the  day  was  neverthe- 
less a  busy  one.  What  little  wind  we  had  was  near- 
ly dead  ahead,  though  we  managed  to  work  along  the 
open  water,  making  "the  pack"  and  the  shore  by  al- 
ternate "taxjks."  At  8  A.M.  it  fell  calm,  leaving  us 
entangled  among  fragments  of  heavy  floe.  We  got 
the  brig's  head  to  the  eastward  with  difficulty,  and,  in 
the  midst  of  a  dense  fog,  fired  our  blunderbuss  and 
hove  to  for  the  "Rescue,"  no  objects  being  visible 
more  than  a  half  ship's  length  from  the  decks. 

The  fog  left  us  about  mid-day,  and  the  atmosphere 
was  so  clear  in  the  afternoon,  that  the  land,  although 
thirty  miles  off,  was  seen  distinctly.  The  watei  and 
the  sky,  in  somewhat  anomalous  contrast  with  this  ex- 
tremely pellucid  state  of  air,  had  a  pearly  or  ash-colored  , 
tinting,  and  the  floe  ice,  of  which  large  quantities  werti 
around  us,  varied  like  the  shadows  of  a  daguerreotype. 

Toward  11  P.M.  the  temperature  of  the  water  fell 
to  30°,  while  that  of  the  air  rose  to  36°  and  37°.  liook- 
ing  toward  the  shore,  I  observed  p,  sort  of  shimmering, 
as  of  the  heated  air  above  ft  stove,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  the  base  of  the  hills  assumed  a  columnar  char- 
acter, as  marked  as  in  the  basalts  of  Stafia.  Soon  aft- 
erward, the  entire  land  came  up  to  us  thrqjigh  a  high, 
ly  refractive  medium,  and  the  vertical  arrangemenl 
which  had  displiiyed  itself  before  in  columns  was 
broken  into  waving  curves,  the,  parallelism  of  their 
lines  remaining  unchahg^d.'  As  the  sun  reached  his 
greatest  meridional  depression,  this  was  accompanied 
by  an  extreme  distortion.  The  homogeneous  charac- 
teiT#th«"irtmusptreTer Was  sin  giTlarl^ 


/  ■ 


REFRACTION. 


65 


was  like  gazing  at  a  panorama  through  badly  blown 
i|>n:d  uneven  gla«s. 

The  little  islands  about  the  shore  were  eleVated  into 
Champagne  bottles  and  mushrooms,  and  some  head- 
lands,  which  I  had  sketched  before  the'^di^tdi'tion,  now 
sent  out  lateral  prolongations  which  almost  bridged 
the  coutiguous  hills.  /  ; ' 


Although  I  httve  since  feenma^.beautiful  displays 
of  this  phenomenon, }  have  never  known  it  more  strike 
ingly  varied  within  such  limited  compass.  My  sketch 
shows  in  the^to^r  Un©  the  true  profile  of  the  coast; 
the  two  loWMs  ^ive  a  very  imperfect  id«a  of  its 
successive  j^ks^^  m  t&fra^Ud. '  It,  was,  indeed,  im- 
possible  to  embod)r^hem  in  a  drawing.  A  thousand 
forms,  inverted,  looming,  and  distorted  most  extrava- 
gantly, were  shifting  about  within  an  arc  of  ten  de- 
grees of  coast.  At  the  same  time,  we  had  out  among 
the  icebergs,  toward  the  southwest,  the  repetition  on 
^^  ^"JHfed  scale  oLthe  complieated  modifieatiea».of^ 
refraction  seen  off  Ramsgate,  and  described  by  Pro- 


*. 


*t 


ijs.feA 


<!.« 


66 


REFRjiftkTIdN. 


V 

ti 


fessor  Vince.     I  allude  to  those  in  which  the  object 
has  a  three-fold  representation.     The'  single  repeti- 
tion was  visible  all  around  us ;  the  secondary  or  in- 
verted image  sometimes  above  and  sometimes  below 
the  primary.     But  it  wa^  not  uncommon  to  see,  also, 
the  uplifted  iceberg,  with  its  accompanying  or  false 
horizon,  joined  at  its  summit  by  its  inverted  image, 
and  then,  above  a  secqnd^orizon,  a  thiriji,  befg  In'  its  / 
natural  position.     Professor  Agassiz  has  described  a 
similar  class  of  repeated  images  upon  Lake  Superior, 
limited,  however,  l!o  two— onainVert^d',  and  dbove  that 
the  same  erect.     He  suggests  that  it  irfAy  be  simply 
the  reflection  of  the  landscape  inverted  upoij,  the  sur-     • 
face  of  the  lake,  and  reproduced,  with  the  act«/al  land-  " 
scape.     The  calm,  ^reflecting  surfacg  of  the  icg^lakes  ^'^^ 
of  Baffin's  Bay  wouldvfavor  such  an  explianatioiu    The  ^^ 
extension  to  a  third  and  fourth  image  is  very  interej^t-  4 
ing.     I  am  afraid  to  attempt  delineating  it.    z^,,^;  ^       • 

Juli/  5.  Although  the  neixt  day  was  nearly 
the  water  «aras  so  srhooth,  from  the  protection  of^ 
"floes,"  thfit,  with  ^rdly  any  perceptible  motion,  we"*' 
managed  to  fan  along  at  a  rate  of  twQ  knots  an  hour, 
our  sails  flapping  all  the  time  lazily  against  the  mast&. 
The  sailing  of  these  ice*environed  Wij,tets  is  incompaf-    > 
rable  in  its  way.     X^e  sea  swell,  a<i:<^ted  by  wiccess- 
ive  break- waters,  does,  not  reach  theip.     "Wie  sailed  as 
though  upon  a^lacid  lake,  toWed  by  invisible  hands,  . 
and  were  only  rnad^  conscious  ofanjltion  by  the  chtllij^  "/'I 
ge%  of  the  ioy  pack  whose  margin  we  were  skirting: 

Toward  the  close  of  the  day,  refraction  cameUlack 
to  us.  I  see  by  my  jougpalthat  I  spent  four  hoUfs 
upon  deck,  taking  s^xtanJTob^ftrvatibns  with  Mr.Xov. 
ell.     No  fata  morgana  aipi^Af^pical  mirftge  evipr  sur- 


"»f  -  parsed  Ihe^exttaordi 


y  lUgtrt; 


I 


¥ 


(     . 


REFRACTION. 


67 


ige  evjpr  sur- 


Voyager,  speak  of  the  effecte  ofArctie  refraction  in 
tonguage  a.  exact  and  mathematical  a.  their  own  J" 
(ectron  tatks     It  almost  Seems  a«  if-their  minlte  ob 
seryatmns  dP^ip-sectors  and  repeating-cirSrCjeft 
.     them  no  scope  for  picturesque  sublily     Thi7mav-      ' 

-was  necessary  fo,  me  to  travel  from  the  tme^watZ 
1  horizon  fe  the  false  one  oO«fraction  above  ZZ 
Hhere  to  see  huge  structures  lining  an'aerS  oceTn    ■ 

propyla,  and  hypiethral.  courts  — some  t»„„;:  j        d 

-'.*'-"-.  "ke  Palmyra  and  BaX  ztmeT*      " 
arch*ave  tod  portico,  like  Telmessus  or-Zhenr t 

"1  can  hardly  realize  it  as  I  VritP  •  hn+  u 
trick  nf  f,inn,r      rru^  II-    •         wnxG ,  but;  it  was  no 

'  Zl     I  „   T,;    ^  *""iL  *"'•''  *'•«'■«  half  in  hoiir 
W    I  saw  them,  capriciA,  versatile,  fulfof  forms 
iut  br.ght  and  definite  « :  the  phases  of  Jbet  I^e'        , 
^nd  as  my  eyes  ran  round  „p„n  the  marvebus  and 
varymg  scene,,  every  one  «f  these  well-r JmeTb^^         . 

;iWu.ating  ever..ar^4ect^.^^  j^t^^'!!!;      ^. 


*^ 


Ho  of  tt./.u^  JL  '■ i  — »^  "IP". IT  makes  one 

a«  ^4k«««  dassicajr-remnrnts  wl«:^ur  ow^ 


-    ':). 


n 


i 
II 


,  » 


68 


REFRACTION. 


riod  reproduces  in  its  Madeleines,  Walhallas,  and  Gi- 
rard  colleges,  like  university  poems  in  the  dead  lan- 
guages. Still,  we  can  compare  them  with  the  iceberg ; 
for  the  same  standard  measures  both,  as  it  does  Chim- 
borazo  and  the  Hill  of  Howth.  But  this  thing  of  re- 
fraction  is  supernatural  throughout.  The  wildest  frolic 
of'  an  opium-eater's  revery  is  'nothing  to  the  phantas- 
magoria of  the  sky  to-night.  Karnaks  of  ice,  turned 
upside  down,  were  resting  upon  rainbow-colored  ped- 
estals: great  needles,  obelisks  of  pure  whiteness,  shot 
up  above  their  false  horizons,: and,  after  an  hour-glass- 
like contraction  at  their  point  of  union  with  their  du- 
plicfited  images,  lost  themselves  in  the  blue  of  the 
upper  sky. 

"Whihj  I  was  looking— the  sextant  useless  in  my 
hand,  lor  1  could  not  think  of  angles — a  blurred  and 
wavy  change  came  over  the  fantastic  picture.  Pris- 
jnatic  tintings,  too  vague  to  admit  of  dioptric  analysis, 
began  to  margin  my  architectural  marbles,  and  the 
scene  faded  like  one  of  Fre^nel's  dissolving  views. 
Suddenly,  by  a  flash,  they  rerfj)peared  in  full  beauty ; 
and,  just  as  1  was  begirining  to  note  in  my  memo- 
randum-book the  changes  which  this  brief  interval 
had  produced,  they  went  out  entirely,  and  left  a  nearly 
clear  horizon." 

Abrupt  and  versatile  as  were  these  changes  in  the 
refracting  medium;N those  in  the  temperature  about  us 
were  no  less  so.  The  relation  between  them  was-tap- 
pareuit,  evien  within  the  limited  range  to  which  we. 
could  extend  our  observations.  At  3  A.M.,  while  ihe 
phenomena  I  ha^^e  described  were  in,  full  brilliancy, 
my  thermometers  on  deck  and  in  the  main-top  Stood 
respectively  at  36°  and  39°,  while  the  surface  water 
JndicatdL  32'.     Ton  minutca-^afterward^  Uier<^w<i>fe- 


\i    .- 


V 


^*  ,r  "      "V'         n 


rt 
t 


t:.^':.'":-\: 


■■^    .iiuiji|ip4^(i^,u^ 


TEMPER  VTURES. 


\ 


69 


no  evidences  of  refraction  visible,  except  some  slight 
loomings  of  the  more  distant  bergs.  The  same  ther- 
mometers now  gave,  both  below  and  aloft,  36°  and  the 
water  had  risen  to  38°,  The  surface  of  the  sea  at  this 
time  was  cafs-pawedas  far  as  could  be  seen.  A  bar6ly 
perceptible  breeze,  which  set  in  suddenly  from  the 
northeast, haa  undoubfedlf contributed  to  restore  the" 
homogeneity  of  the  atmosphere. 

My  sketches  of  the  coast,  which  had  now  been  vis- 
ible for  nearly  three  daiys  without  interruption,  show 
what  strange  diversities  of  outline  may  be  induced  by 
refraction.  The  illusions  are  so  perfect  that  it  is  hard- 
ly possible  to  arrive  at  the  normal  aspect  of  the  shore  " 
Such  changes,  especially  of  altitude,  must  be  a  source  . 
ol  serious  embarrassment  in  the  recognition  oUand-  ' 
marks. 


■^r 


I 


) 


^1- 


",.    ^-       '                '      ' 

■ 

• 

:'^  ■     ' 

"■'i 

> 

^^ 

—     '                     -r- 

'                           ,                 *                                ... 

^ 

4 

l^irH 

^         "              ... 
/.                         *                     - 

'**. 

I 

■1 

■ 

HH 

,♦?. 


OUMiAK    AND   KATACK. 


CHAPTER^X. 


..N  . 


July  6.  The ,6th  found. us  in  latitude^7,2°  5,4,  beat- 
ing to  windward,  as  usual,  betwfeen  "the  pack"  and 
the  h^nd.  /Fhis  hmd  was  of  some  interest  to  us,  for 
we  were  now  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Danish  set- 
tlement  of  llppernavik.  '  . 

Wfth  tlie  exception  of  oiie  subordinate  station,  eigbt- 
eewf  miles  further  to  the  north,  this  is  the  last  of  the 
lilahilh  settlements.  It  is  the  j  umping-off  placfe  of  Arc 
tiftjjiiiiavi^ators — our  last  point  of  communication  with 
tfiie  outride  world.  Here  the  British  explorers  put  tl^e 
date  to  thteir  official  reports,  and  send  home  their  last 
letters  of  good-by.  We  sent  oura  without  the  d6lia>y 
of  seeking  .the  little  port;  for  a  couple  of  k;aya6k8 
boarded  .us  twenty  miles  out  to  sea,  and  for  a  few  bis- 
cuits ghidly  took  charge  of  our- dispatches.  The  hon- 
jesty  of  th6se  poor  Esquimaux  is  proverbial.  Letters 
:Comnjitted  to  their  care  ite  delivered  with  unerring 
safety  to  the  superintendent  of  Ihe' port  or  station- 

We  were  boarded,  too,4)y  an  oomiak,  or  woman's 
boat..%fc4rninfr  from  a  si/f'ce^sful  seal  huot  From 
the  crJP^ 


'^^ 


coiisisting  of  thre^  Svomen  and  foftr  iften, 


'*%■ 


r' 


■'W 


%'' 


THE    MIDDLE    PACK.> 


71 


de^7,2°v  44';bea-t- 

"the  pack"  and 

iterest  t&  us,  for 

the  Danish  set- 

te  station,  eight- 
i  the  last  of  the 
-offplacfeof  Ar*"- 
Qunication  witii 
explorers  put  tl^e 
home  their  last 
thout  the  d^lajf 
pie  of  kiayadcs 
1(1  for  a  few  bis- 
ih^s.  The  hon- 
erbial  Letters 
I  with  unerring 
rt  or  station- 
ak,  Of  woman's 
il  hunt From 


we  purchased  a  goodly  stock  of  eider  eggs  and  three 
young  seals. "  , 

Jvlij  7.  We  had  now  passed  the  seventy-third  de- 
grefe  oflatitude  without  being  materiaHy  retarded  by 
ice.    The  weather  was  one  uribrollen  sunshine,  and 
worthier  of  the  Bay  of  Naples  th^l  Baffin's      The 
coast  on  our  right  hand  consisted  k  low  islan  J^,  so 
grouped  as  to  resemble  ^ontinuous%nd.     They  were 
a  part  of  the  archipelago  at  the  mouth  of  the  large 
faord  of  Ovinde  Oerme,  and  varied  in  size  from  mke 
knobs  to  lofty  headlands  sot  less  than  fifteen  hundred 
feet  high.     To  our  left  was  a  coast  of  a  diffete  char, 
octer-^the  ice.     Thi^Vehad  |iow  skirted  since  the 
3d.    We  knew  it,  therefore,  to  be  a  pktt  of  that  great 
barrier,  the  "middle  pack,"  around  Xs^  dangerous   ' 
cnrcuit  we  had  to  pass  before  reaching  the  western- 
waters.    By  standing  in  and  out,  we  made  the  dis- 
tance  of  the  pack  from  shore  to  l4  abou^  thirty  miles. 
Ihe  space  between  was  clear,  ^nd  it  was  along  this 
as  upoiv  a  great  riVer,  we  had  thus  far  pushed  our  ^mv 
uninterrupted.        r  .,  •' 

,fift/"  Z""'  *^^J"^^i°ff  «f  *he  7th,  a  large  vacant 
shetft.  of^water  shJ>Wed  itsdf  to  the  westward,  pene-    ' 
tr^^ting  the  ice  a^  far  as  the  eye  could  reach ;  "ahd  from    ' 
the  top-majt-head  we  could  see  the  southern  margin 
oiiAhis  ice  losmg:itseI«int^  clear,  waterjr  horizon  'It 
wa0  a  strong  temptation.    Our  commander  determined. 
tQ|il"y  for  a  passage  through.",^  ^„     ;  / 

A^.this  day  exercised  a  somewKafr  oonttollinff^influ 
«nce  upon  our  future  progress,  I  will  give  its  occur-'  . 
rences  a*  they  stand  in  my  JDurnrtl. 

'at  c^5ienced,'' s^ysthe  log-book,  with  "the  pa^ 
ahead,  a  four-knot. breeTe  from  the  JLJSJL,  and^^^u,. -- 


and  foto  men,.  .■     ^^'^)o  tti^  southwest."  ^  Byten  we  fosll^^  in  ^ 


m 


.-  ;* 


1^. 


K  S'         Si 


«n«'aBr' 


*■•" 


¥ 

h 


72 


FAST. 


.# 


ice .  but.  by  cutting  and -boring,  succeeded  inpfenatrat- 
ing  it,  and  sailed  on  through  loose  streamy  until  noon. 
'  "  W#  now  entered  fairly  the  so-thojjght  open  water, 
keeping  the  shore  on  our  starboard  beam,  and  steering 
for  the  northeast;  and  north,  at  a  rate  of  six  knots, 
through  an  apparently  unobstructed^  sea.  But  the 
sanguine  anticipations  W  our  ,eoinma(/Mer  were  soon 
to  be  moderated.  By  four  in  tniff  afteifnoon,  after  plac- 
ing at  least  fifty  miles  between  us  and  the  coasi,  the 
leads  began  to  close  ajfound  us.  Fearing  a  separation 
from  the  Rescue,, w&^^ took  her  in  tow  and  continued 
our  efforts ;  but  from  5  P.M.  until  the  termination  of 
the  day,  our  progress  was  absolutely  nothing.  The 
morning  of  the  8th  oper^ed  upon  us  fast  in  summer  ice. 

"Ju/i/8.  FasU  Around  us  a  circle  of  snow-covered 
ice,  streaked  with  puddles  of  dark  water^  and  varied 
(alas  for  the  variety !)  by  the  very  distant  looming  of 
some  icebergs.  In  the  centre  of  this  dreariness  Are 
the  two  vessels — 'Advance'  ^nd  '  Rescue.'  \ 

"  Our  commander,  loth  to  ^relinquish  his  hopes,  de- 
termined to '  bore.'  This  operation,  which  consists  in 
forcing  a  passage  through  the  ice,  continued  through- 
out the  night — 'all  hands' jumping  upon  the  floes, 
and  working  away  with  crow-bar,  boat-hook,  ice-an- 
chor, and  warping-lines.  The  result  ofall  thii  labor 
was,  that  the  two  vessels  made  about  three  qlarters 
of  a  mile  into  deeper  entanglement;  an^  nowf  at  11 
P.M.,  we  are  fast  in  the  apparent  centre  of  a  solid  sea. 

"All  the  men  are  asleep  except  Dunning,  our  watch- 
man ;  and  but  for  his  tramp  on  the  deck  overhead, 
and  the  scraping  o£  my  pen  over  the  paper,  the  silence 
is  complete.  My  mess-inates,  thoroughly  tired  out, 
are  breathing  heaVily  froiil  their  bunks. 

^^Jiilj^  Q.  Although  wo  commenced  bright  and  early 


•> 


l.iii|ljiii<|-|lMft1l 


right  and  early 


FAST. 


73 


to  warp  our  way  through  the  impacted  *i(^e,  we  found, 
"  ^^^\T      ^^'^^'•'  that  the  entire  day's  reward  w^ 

ahout  three  miles.  'We  are  now  again  fest,  eomplete- 
^    beset,  and  only  waiting  to  rest  the  crew  before 

we  renew  our  effortsf."  '    -  -  , 

.      What  these  efforts  were  it  may  be  as  well  to  ei, 

pl^m,  for  the  benefit  of  ffreside  navigators,  and  perhaps 

'  Xlr;  ■  ^^'''  ^^"  ^«  ^"^^  *«  *«  --  in  ships 
kney  that  It  IS  easy  enough  to  drive  along  in  a  clear 
sea  o^^free  wiad,  or  to  haul  into  dock,  or  to  warp  up 
a  quiet  .iver,buttin-g>  aside  the  lazy  vessels  a^  they 
saving  a  anchor.  -How  do  we  sqil,  and  haul,  and 
warp  in  these  Arctic  Seas !  It  is  a  Wg  story,  and,  to 
understand  it,  we  must  begin  at  the\eginnin^ 


HUMMOCKII. 


J  ^,r\  u"^^  ^"'""^^^  *'''^*  enormous  winter 
growth  which,  under  the  name  of  the  "grmt  pack," 

S  r  w.*"  '^'  "^"^^^"^^  i"fl"««««^  «f  the  Gulf 
easWn*  W.h-t-  this  "middle"  pack,  into  whose 
eastern  margm  we  had  now  thrust  ourselves  ? 

Ihe  short  but  ardent  summer  of  the  Arctic  zone. 


flu.  AM.....      \ —         '  ^"^'^  py  arapuj  (jritt  toward 
Ui«  Alhuihc  uceariTamiy  c^ponSvHnrci^ent^ 


I 


) 


■  .«.■ 


11. 


THE    Mq)DLE     ICE. 


from  the  warm  regions  of  ithe  equator,  soon  reduc^ 
the  winter  pack  into  straggling  fields  of  diminished 
thickness  and  integrity.  These,  uniting  again  by 
their  cohesive  tendencies,  form  aft  irregularly  lenticu- 
lar raft,  which  occupies  the  central  portions  of  the  bay, 
and  is  called  the  "  middle"  ice,  to  distinguish  it  from 
the  great  pack  of  winter. 

This,  then,  is  the  summer  remnant  of  the  winter 
growth — a  patch- work  composed  of  all  sorts  of  ice,  di- 
versified in  pattern,  age;  and  condition,  and  varying 
in  size  fro^m  small  fragments,  called  •' skreed,"  to 
"floes"  or  "fields,  so  limited  that  the  eye  defines  then 
extent.  The  floes  may  be  said  to  lunn  the  basis  of 
the  pack.  Their  thickness  ranges  from  a  few  inches 
to  many  feet,  and  their  diameter  is  often  many  miles. 
I  can  not  attempfr-to  ^escribe  the  uniform  dreariness 
of  their  water-sodden  marshes  and  long  snow-Covered 
platforms,  without  a  point  to  mark  "the!;;level  waste, 
the  rounding  gray."  This  sameness,  however,  is  Ht>t 
always  so  ab^lute;  for,  at  the  margins  of  the  floes, 
where  their  rsJ'gged  edges  have  come  into  grinding 
contact,  the  ice  is  piled  up  into  ridges^thq-t  streak  the 
surface  like  the  mounds  of  a, recej»tly-d itched  meadow. 
These  are  the  "  hummdcks."  | 

The  near  eff'ect  of  the  ice  and  wetter,  where  they 
come  together  is  not  without  beauty  of  its  own.  The 
water  is  itself  of  an  inky  darkness,  a  quality  seemingly 
independent  of  mere  contrast.'  It  is  rarely  even  ruf- 
tled  by  the  >vind ;  and  its  placid  surface  reflects  the 
marginal  ice„  with  its  submerged  tongues,  in  mirror- 

^k€  accuracy.  ^ 

This  ice  is  ihe  -gi^at  bugbear  of  Baffin's  Bay  navi- 
Ration:  yet  I  can  not  help  thinking  .that  soToewhat 
too  much  stress  is  laid  by  the  English  narifators  upon 


.^ 


1^ 


THE    MIDDLE    ICK, 


70 


ues,  in  mirror- 


its  character  of  a  central  barrier.  Not  only  its  condi- 
tion,  but  Its  general  extent,  varies  with  the  season.  It 
IS  well  known  to  the  most  observant  of  the  whalers 
that  the  wmds  of  the  early  spring,  ,o^  «  breaking-un" 
period,  almost  enable  them  to  determine  its  position 
in  mivan^e.  A  preponderance  of  northwest  winds  will 
drive  It  from  the  American  coast;  or  the  northeasters 
ol  the  spring  and  summer  will  often  distribute  it  into 
bng  stragghng  bands,  that  intrude  upon  certain  por- 

rDfcfisS: '''''  ^^  ^^  ^^"^'  ^-^^^"^'  -^ 

The  axis  of  Baffin's  Bay,  according  to  our  own  ob. 
servations,  which  add  nfearly  thirty  miles  to  tjie  width 
ot  Davis'  Straits  at  Cape  Walsingham,  is  from  the 
north  by  east.     The  great  bodies  of  ice  which  enter 

his  bay  from  Lancaster  Sound  and  the  northern  es 
tuaries  of  Jones  and  Smith,  are  undoubtedly  impressed 
by  the  earth's  rotation  as  they  ^^ceed  to  the  south  thus 
causing  an  accumulation  on  tl^pasts  of  North  Amer 
ica,  which  augments  with  theincrea^ing  radius  of  rotJ    ' 
tion,  while  the  Greertlaad  side  is  left  compttely  o^? 

As  ,^e  advance  to  th^e  torth,  this  passage  becomt . 

morecircumscribedanduncertaii>,sothattheiceisgr     - 
erally  encountered  by  the  whalers  before  they  reaSfthe 

01  latitude  73  50  they  enter  apon  a  region  of  nearly 
peT«tnal  ice.  Here  the  middle  paek  intrudes  uJo« 
the  shores,  Wd  fills  that  large  idUoe  indelS 
which  IS  known  as  Molville  Bay«^his  torn  i  v^^  « 
Ij-  applied  by  the  wh^rs  to  a  sweep  of  coast  extend 
ingfrom  the  Devil's  Thumb,  or  WilcLCtto  C,  Pes' 
Dudley  Diggs  and  York,  It  comprise^  on  the  charl 
the  several  b<^ys  of  PrinjMjfcgent  MelviHe  n,, 
and  Alli.«,n.  "^^P^"".  ^o'viHe,  Duneua, 


1       >i 


J^ 


^■v 


■ik;v^:.. 


If 


!  • 


V 


76 


THE    MIDDLE     ICE ITS    CAUSES. 


The  causes  of  this  accumulation,  so  disastrous 
the  navigation  of  the  western,and  northern  waters  bf 
the  bay,  may  be  attributed  In  some  measure  to  the 
Mgh  latitudes  leaving  the  ice  as  yet  unafiected  by  the 
southerly  and  westerly  influences  to  which  I  hav^  al- 
luded, and  therefore  more  open  to  local  causes  of  de- 
viation, such  as  currents  and  winds.  The  neighbor- 
h6od  of  this  region  to  the  sources  of  ice  supply,  the 
sounds  of  Jones,  Lancaster,  and  WolstejpdiQlmey-may 
be  relerred.  to  ap  "aiiother  cause  ;  for  the  ice,  alter 
changing  i^ts  origin&,l  axis  of  drift,  has  not  yet  attained 
its  free  rate  of  motion  in  a  new  direction.  Then,  too, 
there  are  some  peculiarities  in  the  current  action  of 
the  bay,  as  yet  imperfectly  studied,  which  can  not  be 
without  their  influence.  It  is  altogether  probable  that 
a  portion  of  the  interval  between  the  eastern  and 
western  coasts  is  the  seat  of  a  partial  slackwater,  or 
even  rotating  eddy.  And"  in  addition  to  all  these,  there 
is  the  direct  agency  of  that  great  body  of  water  which 
issues  from  Lancaster  Sound.  This  passes  from  west 
to  east,  in  latitude  74°  3Q' ;  and  my  notes  indicate  the 
axis  of  its  course  as  the  line  at  which  the  Melville  Bay 
accumulation  begins. 

All  of  these  causes  are  undoubtedly  aided  by  the 
numerous  bergs  discharged  from  the  glaciers  of  this 
portion  of  the  Greenland  coast,  which  have  often  mave- 
ments  counter  to  those  of  the  surface  ice,  and  retard 
its  descent  and  progress  very  considerably. ' 

It  is  though  this  ice-clogged  bay  that  the  great 
fleets  of  Baffin  whale  ships  have,  for  the  last  thirty- 
two  years,,  made  an  annual  attempt  to  pass.  The 
mysticete,  driven  from  their  feeding  grounds  on  the 
coast  of  Greenland,  have  sought  a  refuge  on  the  west- 
em  side ;  and  their  seats  of  favorite  tesort,  in  the  ear- 


ly part  bf  the  season,  are  now  in  the  water^^of  Lan- 


THE   Middle   ice. 


77 


10 


caster,  Prince  Regent,  and  Wellington  Sounds,  and  tlu 
indentations  of  the  northwestern  coast  of  Baffin's  Bay 
The  vessels  which  have  succeeded  in  penetratin.r  thiJ 
intervening  ice-barrier,  before  ^gust  are  sure  of  a  full 
cargo ;  but  after  thi«  time  alMrts  are  useless.  The 
"  fleet"  is  spoken  of  as  «  baffl^lf  and  is  obliged  to  seek 
other  "grounds"  to  the  soUtK  and  west.  It  is  in  fact 
a  great  lottery,  the  caprices  of  the  ice  controlling  the 
efforts  of  the  most  daring;  and,  for  the  last  two  years 
or  "seasons"  before  our  ai;«val,  the  whalers  had  com- 
pletely  failed  in  effecting  a  passage. 

I  have  been  surprised  that  this  region  has  been  so 
little  attended  to  by  the  very  able  English  hydrogra- 
phers  who  have  visited  these  seas.      The  valuable 
-''wmd   and   current"  generalizations   of  Lieutenant 
Maury  would  be  especially  applicable  to  ice  navicra. 
tion^  and  their  application  to  the  fishing  grounds'of 
Baffan  s  Bay  would  be  a  matter  of  large  utilitarian  in. 
terest.     The  commanders  of  the  whaling  ships  are  an 
intelligent  set  of  men,  and  they  have  acquired,  by  dint 
of  long  and  sometimes  dearly  bought  experience,  a 
valuable  tact  in  the  navigation  of  this  intricate  region 
It  IS  surely  to  be  reg^tted  that  the  materials  which' 
they  could,  furnish  have  not  yet  been  made  a  subject 
of  scientific  record  and  comparison.     Since  the  vear 
1819,  from  which  we  may  date  the  opening  of  Mel- 
ville Bay,  no  less  than  210  vessels  have  been  destroy, 
ctt  in  attempting  its  passage ! 


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23  WfST  MAIN  STRKT 

WIBSTHt.N.V.  MSM 

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CHAPTER  XL 

We  left  the  American  expeditioii^  on  the  threshold, 
of  th6  ice  of  Melville  Bay,  immovably  fixed,  to  nil 
appearance,  in, the  middle  pack.  I  promised  at  that 
time  to  describe  the  sort  of  efforts  that  were  making 
for  its  release  ;  but  I  shall  do  better,  perhaps,  by  giv- 
ing a  general  view  of  what  one  of  the  figures  of  speech 
allows  us  to  call  ice  navigation.  To  those  who  pre- 
fer a  more  specific  form  of  narrativ^I  give  the  choice 
of  dates  from  the  8th  to  the  29th  of  July,  and  permit 
them  to  be  assured  that  they  ate  reading  the  story  of 
our  progress  for  the  day  they  have  chosen. 

Let  us  begin  by  imagining  a  vessel,  or,  for  variety, 
two  of  them,  speeding  along  at  eight  knots  an  hour, 
and  heading  directly  lor  a  long,  low  margin  of  ice 
abqut  two  miles  off.  "D'ye  see  any  opening?"  cries 
the  captain,  hailing  an  officer  on  the  foretopsail-yard. 
"Something  like  *a  lead'  a  little  to  leeward  of  that 
iceberg  on  our  port-bow."  In  a  little  y^hile  we  near 
the  ice ;  our  light  sails  are  got  in,  diif  commander 
taking  the  place  of  the  officer,  who  has  resumed  his 
station  on  the  deck. 

Before  you,  in  a  plain  of  solid  ice,  is  a  huge  iceberg, 
and  near  it  a  black,  zigzag  canal,  checkered  with  re- 
cent fragments.  /^ 

Now  commences  the  process  of  "  conning."  Such 
work  with  the  helm  is  not  often  seen  in  ordinafy  seas. 
T4ie  brig's  head  4s  pointed  &r  the  ©pen  gap ;  th&  wateh^ 


i 


the  threshold. 
'  fixed,  to  till 
mised  at  that 
were  making 
rhaps,  by  giv- 
ures  of  speech 
liose  who  pre- 
ive  the  choice 
y,  and  permit 
g  the  story  of 
en. 

)r,  for  variety, 
nets  an  hour, 
margin  of  ice 
3ening?"  cries 
retopsail-yard. 
Bward  of  that 
vhiie  we  near 
r  commander 
3  resumed  his 

huge  iceberg, 
iered  with  re- 

ning."  Such 
ordinary  seas, 
tp^;  th«  wftteb 


X 


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.^.ti^.u4«Eik^^4/iUi^daJba.bu^.:Lr  if>«^-«..'.^4^..  .wL^Ldis^aHH 

■A;^- 


A    JAM>  •  oj 

axe  stationed  at  the  braces ;  a  sort  of  silence  prevaUs 
Presently  comes  down  the  stentorian  voice  of  our  com' 
mander  «  Haxd-a-staxboard,"  and  at  the  same  moment 
the  yards  yield  t»  the  ready^hauj  at  the  brmies.     The 
bng  turns  her  nose  into  a  suaSen  indentation,  and 
bangs  her  quarter  against  a  big  lump  of  «  swaahine" 
ice     «  Steady  ^here !»    For  half  a  minute  not  a  sound, 
until  a  second  fell—-  Down,  d^n !  hard  down  "'  and 
then  we  rub,  and  jprape,  and  jam,  and  thrust  aaide, 
and  are  thrust  aside  j^bu^^mehow  or  other  find  our' 
selves  in  an  open  canaVlosing  itself  in  the  distence. 
1  his  IS  "a  lead.  X 

As  we  move  on,  congratula^inf  ourselves— if  we 
thmk  about  the  thing  at  all— that  we  are  «  good"  fm 
a  few  hundred  yards  more,  a  suddeu  exclamation,  ad- 
dressed  to  nobody,  Jut  sufficiently  distinctive,  comes 
from  the  yard-arm  (we'U  caU  it  "pshaw !"),  and.  look- 
ing ahead,  we  see ^^t  our  « lea^"  is  getting  na^wer, 
Its  sides  edging  toward  each  other-it  is  losing  its' 
straightness.  At  the  same  moment  comes  a  complica- 
ted  s^ession  of  orders :  «  Helxn-a-starboard '"  «  Port '" 

Btod,  hard,  hard !"  (scrape,  scrateh,  thump !) «  Eugh '" 
an  anomalous  grunt,  and  we  are  jammed  fast  between 
two  great  ice-fields  of  unknown  extent.  The  captain 
comes  down,  and  we  all  go  quietly  to  supper. 

Next  come  some  processes  unconnected  with  the 
sails,  our  wings.  These  will  explain,  after  Arctic 
fashion,  the  terms  "  heave,"  and  «  warp,'^  and  "  track  " 
and  "haul,"  for  we  are  now  beset  in  ice,  and  what  lit- 
tle wind  we  have  is  dead  ahead.  A  couple  of  hands 
under  orders,  of  course,  seize  an  iron  hook  or  "ice-an' 
chor  of  which  we  have  two  sizes,  one  of  forty,  and 
_^9lher  of  about  a  imndred^ouads.    Witfrthis  they^-- 


82 


HEAVING. 


jump  from  the  bows,  and  "plant  it"  in  the  ice 
ahead,  close  to  the  edge  of  the  crack,  along 
which  we  wish  to  force  our  "way.  To  plant 
an  ice-anchor,  a  hole  is  cut  obliquely  to  the 
surface  of  the  floe,  either  with  an  ice-chisel,  or 
with  the  anchor  itself  used  pickaxe  foshion, 
and  into  this  hole  the  larger  curve  of  the  an- 
chor is  hooked.     Once  fast,  you  slip  a  hawser 


Lj  around  its  smaller  end,  and  secaire  it  from 
a  slips  by  a  "  mousing"  of  rope-yarn.     The  slack 
'  8  of  the  hawser  is  passed  around  the  shaft  of  our 
patent  winch — an  apparatus  of  cogs  and  levers 
.  standing  in  our  bows — and  every  thing,  in  far 
less  time  than  it  has  taken  me  to  describe  it, 
is  ready  for  "  heaving.'^ 
*  Then  comes  the  hard  work.    The  hawser  is 
hauled  taut;  the  strain  is  increased;  every 
body,  captain,  cook,  steward,  and  doctor,  is  tak- 
ing a  spell  at  the  "  pump  handles"  or  overhaul- 
ing  the  warping  gear;  for  dignity  does  not  take 
care  of  itsu  hands  in  the  middle  pack ;  until 
at  last,  if  the  flbes  be  not  too  obdurate,  they 
separate  by  the  wedge  action  of  our  bows,  and 
we  force  _our  way  into  a  little  cleft,  which  is 
kept  open  on  either  side  by  the  vessel's  beam. 
But  the  quiescence,  the  equilibrium  of  the  ice,  which 
allows  it  to  be  thus  severed  at  its  line  of  junction, 
i§  rare  enough,     Oftentimes  we  heave,  and  haul,  and 
r  sweat,imd,  after  parting  a  ten-inch  hawser,  go*to  bed 


% 


■\  ^ 


TRACKING. 


83 


wet,  and  tired,  and  discontented,  with  nothing  but  ex. 
penence  to  pay  for  our  toil.  •  This  is  «  warping  " 

But  let  "«  suppose  that,  after  many  hours  of  this 
sort  of  unprofitable  labor,  the  floes  release  their  press- 
Aire,  or  the  ice  becomes  frail  and  light.     -  Get  ready 
the  hnes!      Out  jumps  an  unfortunate  with  a  forty, 
pound    hook"  upon  his  shoulder,  and,  after  one  or  two 
duckings,  tumbles  over  the  ice  and  plants  his  anchor 
on  a  distan  cape  in  line  with  our  wished-for  direction 
ffie  poor  fellow  has  done  more  than  carry  his  anchor; 
lor  a  long  white  cord  has  been  securely  fastened  to  it 
which  they  '« pay  out"  from  aboard  ship  as  occasion 
requires.     This  is  a  whale-line-cordage  thin,  light 
s^ng,  and  of  the  best  material.     It  pLes  i£d 
through  a  block,  and  then,  with  a  few  artistic  turns 
around  the  capstan.     Its  "slack"  or  loose  end  is  car 
ned  to  a  httle  windlass  at  our  main-mast.    Now  comes" 
the  waipmg  again.     The  first  or  heavy  warping  we 
caUed  '« heavmg:"  this  last  is  a  civilized  perfoTmanc" 
'all  hands"  walking  roui^  with  the  capstan-bars  to 
he  click  of  Its  iron  pauls,  of  else,  if  the  wateh  be  fresh 
to  a  jolly  chorus  ol'  sailors'  songs. 

We  have  made  a  few  hundred  yards  of  this  light 
warpmg,  when  thefloes,  never  at  rest,  open  into  a  tort- 
uous canal  agam.  We  can  dispense  with  the  slow 
traction  of  the  capstan.  The  same  whak-line  k 
passed  out  ahead  and  a  party  of  hnman  horses  take 
u.  m  tow  Eaeh  man-^r  horse,  if  you  please-hal 
a  canvas  strap  posing  over  his  shoulder  and  ft^tened 

Int        fT '  "''  ^^"*i«^^J3^'  ^  this  is  a  chapter  ex-. 
planatory  of  terms,  "  toggled  to  the  warp."    This  haj 
nessing  is  no  slight  comfort  to  hands  wet  with  water' 
at  the  Ireezing  point ;  and  with  its  aid  they  tug  qjong. 


•  X    ■ 

»iftMfiy»fthiTi'i.-iYi 

SaKSBBJHBrST 

j_. 

S4 


IMPRISONED. 


sometimes  hi  a  weary  walk,  and  sometimes  at  a  dog- 
trot.    This  is."  tracking.". 

When  we  could  neithex^*Jieave,"  nor  "  warp,"  nor 
"  track,"  nor  sail,  we  re§oHed  to  all  sorts  of  useless  ex- 
pedients, such  as  sawing,  cutting,  and  vainly  striving 
to  force  our  way  into  a  more  hopeful  neighborhood. 
It  was  long  before  experience  taught  us  to  spare  our- 
selves this  useless  labor,  and,  even  after  we  had  become 
convinced  that  the  periods  fbf  efFe(?tive  effort  of  this 
sort  were  so  few  and  far  between,  it  was  hajd  for  men 
of  our  temperaments  to  await  idly  a  change  for  better 
things.  ^ 

We  were  twenty-ohe  days  thus  imprisoned,  never 
leaving  a  little  circle  of  some  six  miles  radius,  and 
measuring  our  progress  by  yards  and  feet  rather  than 
by  miles.  For  the  rest,  my  journal  must  give  its  own 
picture  of  this  season  of  "  besetment." 


N. 


jr 


DKVU's  THUMB. 


CHAPTKR  XII. 


iJtm  f!  ^'^  t^^nty-four  hours  helples* 

wZ      rt  ""'™/"  ™y  *«<=«'»'  more  than  twe7 
ty  yards.    The  wind,  which  had  been  from  the  north 
east,  hauled/yesterday  afternoon  to  the  westward 
smce  whe^Tblowing  at  tunes  qnite  freshlyjrhr^'' 

to  southwest  by  west.    From  the  eommencement  of 
this  change  to  this  moment,  the  pack  has  been  stead 

'"&  ^"'"7  "7  ""''  »»-  impo„e:"ab{:"'- 
JMow  I  begin  to  reahze  some  of  the  scene,  H« 
scribM  in  polar  travel.    Go  „p  te  the  forei;!  h  ighi 

ered  ice     Here  and  there  a  very  distant  berg  breaks 
1  X.Th'^'  '""*  *ejh»mmocks  and  the  ™L^L 
«e  softened  down  by  the  distance  into  one  plane  sur!^  ^ 


86 


SEALS. 


face  of  cold  white,  and,  except  to  landward,  there  is 
nothing  to  arrest  the  eye. 

"  This  shore,  however,  although  fifty  miles  off,  is 
visible  enough,  showing  throughout  all  the  hours  of 
our  now  perpetual  day  a  tall  peak,  rising  like  a  light- 
house from  a  group  of  hills.  This  striking  landmark 
is  called  the  *  Devil's  Thumb.'  *  ,  a 

"July  11.  The  wind  changed  at  8  A.M.,  coming  from 
the  northward  and  eastward  ;  but  the  pack  seems  as 
yet  uninfluenced.  We  are  hemmed  in  as  closely  as 
ever. 

"Last  night  Lieutenant  De  Haven,  who  had  been 
fixedly  examining  an  object  between  us  and  the  shore, 
passed  the  glass  to  me,  with  the  question,  'What  do 
you  make  of  that  ?'  Without  any  hesitation,  I  an- 
swered, *A  mast,  with  gaff  and  main-sail  partially 
clewed  up.'  It  seemed  to  me  that  one  of  the  Danish 
fore-and-aft  schooners  had  anchored  at  the  edge  of  the 
pack,  or  just  within  it.  Our  commander  thought  so 
too;  but  a  glance  through  a  Fraunhofer  telescope 
showed  it  to  be  a  mere  freak  of  refraction.    " 

"Several  seals  were  seen  upon  the  more  distant 
floes,  but,  in  spite  of  all  my  efforts,  I  could  not  approach 
near  enough  for  a  shot.  They  are  always  on  the  alert, 
and  at  the  slightest  suspicion  betake  themselves  to 
their  holes.  The  Esquimaux  use  a  canvas  frame  or 
screen,  which  they  move  before  their  persons,  and,  by 
a  patient  process  of  stalking,  succeed  in  getting  with'- 
in  rifle  shot.  The  Danish  company  supply  them  with 
arms,  and  they  seldom  miss  their  aim.  I  managed  to 
get  sufficiently  close  to  recognize  two  species— the 
Greenland  Saddle -back  and  the  Vituline  {Phoca 
Groenlandica  and  P.  vitulina) ;  but -strange  to  say,  the 
-Rough  seal,  the  Phoca  fcstida  of  the  Greenland  fau^ 


SEALS BIRDS. 


87 


"iTen^^  "tich  «,e  had  .eel  .„  ms^y,  ^^  „„e.„,,^ 
ture  of  solitary  enjoyment,  rolling  not  unlike TL 

™bM„g  h,  head  •>,z"ZL:'"fc:cLT. 

seal  „„ather  his  ^pec^  are  full  „f  IXwil 
At  a  e,de  v,pw,  with  his  caudal  end  slued  mndZihe 
de  from  you,  and  his  head  liiled  suspicioSi^  he 
air,  he  13  tlie  exact  imase  of  a  Hno-  ni.  j 
louring  his  wrig^es,  he  ^tembl  a'^eafraif  ITu 
tie  whUe  ai^r,  he  turns  his  Wk  toyou' a„dtises  t 
on  h.s  Side  flippers  Ulce  a  couching  hunter  pSi^^ 
for  a  shot,  the  very  image  of  an  Es'uima^x."    '       ' 

tKe.  in  coupon.    TW^.^cS™'^  ri' o"^ 
SQrvations  while  in  the  nack      V^^h  , 

Ihe  Bearded  seal  (F.  barhntn\  «++  • 

•size  than  any  of  these      tZ       ^         '"'  *  ^^""^^ 
»-iiy  ui  taese.     i  wo  overgrown  ohesfi  mnn 

sters  were  seen  at  a  distanPA      T^i^  ,  ^"' 

.e0.e^.  dii^Hng^"- 

of  youth.  ^     universal  accompaniment 

_J'Ishotto^y  several  specimens  of  |Re  Wife  pff"- 


SLOW     PROOKESS. 


of  Baffin's  Bay,  well  called  the  Ivory  {Lams  ehurne-, 
us).  It  is  a  singularly  beautiful  bird,  so  faultless  in  its 
purity  of  white,  as  to  be  descried  with  difficulty  on  the 
surface  of  the  snow.  The  legs,  (Which  are  deep  bjack, 
are  all  that  you  see  at  a  little  distance.  A  specimen 
«hot  a  few  days  afterward  had  numerous  ash-colored 
spots  on  the  wings  and  shoulders,  perhaps  immature 
markings.  "      ^ 

"  In  addition  to  the  Ivory,  I  have  noti^d,  since  our 
entry  into-the  pack,  the  Silvery  and  Burgomaster  gulls 
(L.  argentatus  and  L.  glaucus),  but  the  kitti wakes 
(i.  tridaciylus)  have  disappeared.  The  raollemokes 
are  still  abundant.  TWo  terns,  one  the  Sterna  arctica, 
the  other  unrecognized,  with  a  soUtary  Lestris  {L.par- 
asiticfi),  complete  our  catalogue  of  birds. 

"  The  Aneroid  index  now  stands  at  29°  05',  correct- 
ed— lower  than  it  has  been  since  leaving  New  York. 

"Jtt/y  12.  The  changes  in  the  ice  since  dinnerhave 
been  such  as  to  invite  us  jto  renewed  exertion.  They 
were  indeed  protean;  the  pack  was  not  the  same  fyt 
ten  minutes  together.  Go  belbw,  congratulating  your- 
self  on  the  headway  you  are  making,  and  vi^hen  you 
coipe  back  you  are  hopeles^y  *  fast.'  Go  down  again 
to  chronicle  your  vexation,  and  you  are  surrounded  by 
open  leads  before  you  have  put  away  your  joiirnal. 
Stranger  still  is  M^e  uncertain  influence  of  warping. 
A  single  whale-line  will  sometime^  force  the  brig  into 
a  barely  perceptible  crevice,  eolarging  it  into  a  *  track- 
able'  canal,  while  in  another  attempt  a  four-inch 
hawser  will  be  stranded  without  producing  the  slight- 
'  est  eflfect.  * 

"This  afternoon  before  we  began  our  work,  except 

thsit  the  -jvater-pools  had  become  larger  and  more  fre- 

^4[uent,  you  would  not  at  firat  glance  have  detected  any 


A    BEAR. 


89 


^      Change;  but  by  fixing  the  eye  carefully  and  contmn 

^«^^3^"P-;  line  iA  advance  pf  us.  where  an  oM^^^^^ 
^  Kad  closed  two  days  before,  you  could  perceive  a  ve^ 
shght  separation     The  closed  line  had  become  aY2 
at  leaat  three  or  four,  inches  wide     On  o„r  1  a 

Uh^ffoe.  .^he  aperture^  at  fifef  a  mere  crack,  wMen 
e    to  a  couple  of  feet.  dTviding,  a«.  it  did  so,  tto  fie  dj 
of  at  least  ^twenty  acres  area.     Tlio  traction  c^at,„tt 
mg,  our  wedge-shaped  bows  insinuated  tSemse  ™' 
mto  a  self-made  channel,  and,  acquiring  new  momln 

alter  us.    b«oh  instances  illustrate  strikingly  the  ef 
.Zi;       \  *  '5'°  "-™''"  ^'^-^  impossible  to  influ. 

^nofthei,„es.thoy^^:i]:;;;::^^,^^^^^^^ 

"  mUe  working  with  the  rest  of  the  crew  upon  the 
«.,  I  was  starred  by  a  cry  of  'bear.'    Sure  eZi 
1   was  thaf  menagerie  wonder.    Not,  howe™  the 
sleepythmg  which,  with  begrimed  hai  ,  anlsubduld 

-ed  past  us  on' the  flolrHhort  Lr^ilf^  ^^    . 

t  a^^:^'^  "'X'""'«-  ■"«»'  nine  feet  lo^as 
we  afterward  found  by  meisuring  his  tracks,     kis 

^™d  his  head  and  neck  jm  a  Une  with  the  lo^g  axis 
_^l'!'^<4«'icatQ  yelltaw^not  tawny,  buta  true— = 

-  7 


■<:U 


:4V 


90 


A    BEAR. 


ochre  or  gamboge — apd  his  black,  blue-black,  nose 
looked  abrupt  and  ^-ccidental.  His  haunches  were 
regularly  arched,  and,  supported  as  they  were  on  pon- 
derous  legs,  gave  him  an  almost  elephantine  lod^ 
The  movements  of  the  animal  were  peculiar.  A  sort 
of  drawling  dignity  seemed  to  oppress  him,  and  to  for- 
bid his  lifting  his  august  legs  higher  than  was  abso- 
lutely necessary.  It  might  have  been  an  instinctive 
philosophy  that  led  him  to  avoid  the  impact"  of  his 
toes  upon  ice  of  uncertain  strength ;  but  whatever  it 
was,  he  reminded  me  of  a  colossal  puss  in  boots. 

"  I  will  not  dwell  upon  our  adventures,  as,  on  mur- 
derous thoughts  intent,  we  chased  this  bear.  We 
were  an  absurd  party  of  zealots,  rushing  pell-mell 
upon  the  floes  with  Vastly  more  energy  than  discre- 
tion. While  walking  in  the  lightest  manner  over  sus- 
picious ice,  my  companion  next  in  line  behind  me  dis- 
appeared, gun  and  all ;  yet,  after  getting  him  out,  we 
insanely  continued  our  chase  with  the  aid  of  boats. 
After  laboring  very  hard  for  about  three  hours,  repeat- 
ed duckings  in  water  at  30°  cooled  down  our  enthu- 
siasm. The  bear,  meantime,  never  varied  from  his  un- 
concerned walk.  We  saw  him  last  in  a  labyrinth  of 
hummock  ice.  . 

"  In  the  evening  it  blew  a  gale  from  the  southward 
and  eastward,  holding  on  until  midnight.  Strange  to 
say,  it  produced  no  marked  effects  on  the  pa^k.  At 
first  we  feared  a  nip,  for,  judging  from  the  wind  which 
swept  our  floes,  it  must  have  been  severe  in  the  open 
sea.  But  we  rode  it  out  in  our  icy  harbor  without  ^ny 
trouble,  although  the  undulations  of  both  ice  and  wa- 
ter told  of  the  commotion  outside. 

"  Our  day's  progress  was  one  mile  and  a  half. 

^^July  13.  'Fast  again !  for,  excopt  that  mile  and . a 


FAST. 


91 


half  Of  yesterday  we  are  nearly  where  we  started  from 
is  It  to  them  that  we  owe  our  exemption  from  the 

"/M/y  14-15.  the  AmerioOexDedihnn  .a     a 
half  a  ship's  length.  -  '^''^^^Pedition  advaiiees 

mertVh^-.^'I  "^'T  ^*''^»^«'  ^^^  it  be  midsum- 
me  ?    The  ice  through  which  we  yesterday  attempt- 
ed to  work  our  way  was  from  two  to  four  Lt  tWck 
and  as  th^  broken  fragn^ents  closed  around  the  yes 
sels,  they  froze  into  a  solid  mass      Fnr  .,1       t 
tte  the™„.eter  stood  beW  Tu;  fI"^„TpI 'Z^ 
the  mean  temperature  of  the  entire  day  wL  but  34™ 
The  sun  shines  always,  and,  except  when  in  his 

^  brght  that  we  go  about  in  owIJike  gogXtha 
buckle  over  the  nose.    Yet,  with  all  this  liStJ^l  . 

On  the  13th  two  vessels  were  entered  in  the  lo<r 
Iwok  as  seen  to  the  southward  and  eastwL  o„  th 

rr  "?'"'  •"""•  O"  *"<'  «'h  theytr„Cved 
to  have  changed  their  bearings,  thus  provwThru 
was  not  a  freak  of  refraction.    On  the  Ifirt,  fil 

rr'*^;  -  »->y « we  could  »i  ot  o„:  :c 

»  bng,  and  three  barques.    They  proved  tn  b.     ??' 
ers,  returning  from  their  ufcucceS Ittlt  f„ 
etrate  Melville  Bay  to  the  North  wl*^       ■*"" 


% 


P«  Which  W^Sv^irS^-'^ 


«i»'i 


'*->.. 


92 


'AST    ENOUGH. 


half  an  inch  thick;  This  process  of  cementing  going 
on  in  the  month  of  July  looks  discouraging.  We  have 
now  been  ten  dadys  beset ;  and,  with  the  exception  of 
the  12th,  when/an  unusual  wind  slightly  aflfected  our 
ice,  we  have  advanced  but  little  more  than  a  couple 
of  ship's  lengths.  Indeed,  for  the  past  five  days,  our 
progress  has/been  absolutely  nothing;  for,  although 
our  daily  observations  prove  that  the  great  pack  is  in 
motion,  our  relative  position  remains  unchanged.  In 
four  days  yVve  have  made  about  four  miles  of  southerly 
drift,  and  to-day  our  chronometers  indicate  another 
four  to  the  west.  How  very  sad  it  would  be  to  remain 
prison.yound  in  this  icy  prairie  until  the  season  of 
search/has  passed  by !  Certain  it  is  that  some  great 
commotion  must  influence  this  ice,  if  it  is  ever  to  lib- 
erate  us,  for  upon  thaws  we  can  place  no  reliance. 

"/To-day  we  organized  foot-races,  and  our  friends  of 
the  Rescue  had  a  regular  divertissement  of  single-stick, 
foot-ball,  and  fancy  matches  against  time.  Our  best 
riinner  made  his  mile  in  seven  minutes  eleven  seconds. 
/  "July  18.  To-day  is  our  eleventh  day  since  enter- 
ing the  ice,  our  sixtb  of  nearly  absolute  immobility. 
We  made,  however,  two  ship's  lengths  by  alternate 
warping  and  cutting  through  ice  three  feet  thick. 
Our  incessant  exertions  have  fatigued  us :  .we  have 
already  parted  four  cables  by  heaving;  fortunately  no- 
body injured. 

"  I  took  to-day  a  long  gun- walk,  bringing  back  a 
couple  of  tern  and  some  gulls.  Our  commander 
counted  from  aloft  nearly  a  hundred  seals,  distributed 
listlessly  over  the  ice.  I  have  tried  in  vain  to  stalk 
them. 

"July  19.  The  men  turned  in  at  midnight,  to  awake 
agam  at  six*    Ail  hands  are  pretty  well  used  up. 


..^r-l;; 


HEAVING. 


93 


great  pack  have  been  ^11^  Z  °T^ '''° 
level,  some  peculiaritv  i^2  t  ^  „°°*  "nbroken 
rescued  here  anTZt a  K«t  f  ^  "^ '^^  """^  >"« 
leaving  it  in  the  f„r„f  °' *?^  ""'">*'•  ^'^n^ent, 

for»tfe,adilYrnt:Lr;?SrS    ''''^•' 
our  only  avenues  of  escape     Iti^      a        "°  "<"' 

that  o„.,fforts  of  proZ- ar J  dCtT '  If^f  '"T 

and,  although  some  hXC  St  „T.t"r. '*^'^^' 
of  the  slack  the  «•«.♦      V,  "^'"*"*a''e  charge 

the  snatcttith  s^h  fol      T'^T  '^^'^  <■"» 
smoke  arise  from  the  fSn"""  '"^  """  "'"""^^  "^ 

at:r:?tii".":i:t'tet:r^'^™°-- 
r^tz  tt  rsr  rJ  >  ^- ™s:i: 

|H«itta.  On  sucHart  e,  ^  "^"^  '"  *■">  ^'^"^'^ 
consummation  and  ml  ,.  *"^  ''  *"  ^'^P'^W 
man  and  anch;r  suddeX  S'°  """^  ^ '"'™  ^'^"  l"* 
often  necessaralL  to  1.  '■'■*''"  t"^"""'  I*  *« 
er  after  its  attT^k  forThrh  ""^""f "  ""'  '"'^- 
projections  catch  the  rone  ,!.  'T™'"''  ""■•  """^ 
divert  the  line  of  t™.r%     '  1"'"''  "''»»«''.  ■»'»nW ' 

orswim  to  clea.  the  ■  sl^T  "olT*' '."."P-  ^'^«' 

Slack     Operations  likif  this  are 

t  iKfc:*!  a 


/' 


^ 


9'4 


ANOTHER    BEAR. 


N 


severe  trials,  both  of  energy  and  health  ;  more  severe, 
I  sometimes  think,  than  any  which  are  encountered 
in  the  systematic  explorations  of  the  British  voyagers. 

''July  20.  We  failed  to  reach  the  'lake'  yesterday, 
gaining  it  to-day.  We  cast  oflf  from  the  Rescue  and 
made  three  minutes  and  twenty  seconds  of  sail,  meas- 
ured by  a  Parkinson  and  Frodsham  chronometer! 
That  over,  we  are  again  wedged  in  ice. 

"  Our  commander,  who  had  heretofore  miraculously 
escaped  his  ducking,  while  standing  upon  a  miniature 
South  America  of  ice,  punching  with  a  boat-hook  at 
a  little  Cape  Horn,  went  down  suddenly  this  morning, 
leaving  a  Terra  del  Fuego  of  slush  and  water  to  mark 
the  place  where  he  had  been.  He  had  some  trouble 
in  scrambling  out. 

"A  short  time  after  this,  while  we  were  joking  about 
his  adventure  over  a  quiet  little  noggin  of  whisky- 
punch,  Mr.  Boatswain  Brooks,  a  capital  seaman,  who 
did  watch  duties  on  board  the  Rescue,  whispered  down 
the  hatchway,  'A  bear  along  side !'  This  time  the  ras- 
cal  was  right  aboard  of  us,  and  we  kept  below  the  bul- 
warks, so  that  his  wanderings  were  rather  matters  of 
caprice  than  of  fear. 

•'  lie  was  a  young  animal,  not  more  than  six  or  sev- 
en feet  in  length,  with  a  color  even  more  delicately 
tinted  than  the  other,  for  the  yellow  was  only  appar- 
ent at  the  armpits,  haunches,  and  spinal  ridge;  his 
mCizzle,  lips,  and  dew-laps  were  of  dark  purple. 

"  When  first  seen  ho  rose  upon  his  hind  palms,  and, 
lifting  his  neck  in  the  direction  of  our  brig,  snuffed 
the  air  inspectingly.  Satisfied  with  our  appearance, 
he  walked  well  within  shot ;  but  just  as  we  were 
about  to  reward  his  confidence  with  a  bullet,  he  gam- 
-boled  off  to  a  ttetgfabortng  httmmock.     The  poor  fei 


.i,.v. 


o 


A^.A 


•  K       * 


NO    PROGRESS. 


96 


low  had  such  ajoik  of  life  enjoyment  that  I  felt  glad 
that  I  haxl  not  fire^  although  my  hand  was  upon  the 
trigger. 

"Once  upon  thisl little  hill  of  ice,  he  was  at  home 
agam,  favormg  us  |ith  some  hear  play,  snapping  at 
the  inoffendmg  icic  es,  ruhbing  his  mouth  sideways 
against  the  snow,  ak  rolling  over  and  over  from  top 
to  bottom  I  mentiW  all  these  as  characteristics  of 
the  animal.  Of  course  we  chased  him,  and  of  course 
we  failed.  We  had  U  yet  acquired  our  exf,erience 
as  bear  hunters. 

^^f^l^  ^i*  l\'"^li  yesterday,  and  the  ice  is  per- 
ceptibly affected.    Tl/ese  rains,  of  which  we  have  now 
had  several,  exercise 
weaker  floes. 

"Heaving,  boring, 
noting ! 

"July  22.  A^  we  ,were  in  the  act  of  warping  inte  a 
narrow  chasm,  the  capricious  ice  closed  in  upon  us 
mpping  us  on  our  counter,  and  heaping  up  some,two 

"We  filled  our  water  casks  from  a  pool  in  a  glued- 
up  iceberg,  and  saw  another  bear !  We  were  too  wise 
this  time  to  phase  him. 

"Our  progress— not  to  be  measured  by  yards.'.' 


a  very  rapid  influence  upon  the 
sailing,  but  no  progress  worth 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


!• 


I  HAVE  continued  m^  journal  long  enough  to  prove 
the  wearying  sameness  of  oi*^  days.  I  wish  now  to 
say  a  few  words  about  the  iQcal  characters  of  the  seat 
of  our  imprisonment. 

The  ice  was  of  several  kinds.  One  was  the  true 
material  of  the  winter  floe,  varying  in  thickness  from 
seven  feet  to  as  many  inches.  This  was  snow-cover- 
ed, patched  by  fresh  water-pools,  and  sufficiently  un- 
altered to  retain  its  crystalline  structure  in  full  integ- 
rity. When  it  was  over  two  feet  in  thickness,  por- 
tions take^g^from  its  surface  gave  no  evidence  of  sali 
under  the  test  of  nitrate  of  silver. 

A  second  ice  I  have  called  water-sodden.    It  sel-* 
dom  exceeded  a  foot  in  thickness,' but  was  irregularly 
thawed  in  patches  and  striated  lines.     It  was  thor- 
oughly infiltrated  with  salt  water,  and  broke  readily 
under  a  blow,  displaying  at  the  lines  of  fracture  the 


vertical  prisms  of  its  crystalline  structure.     This  ice 
formed  the  basis  of  the  pack  I  and  although,  by  sftlftfit- 


m 


(' " 


97 


SNOW  .ICE. 

wedge-acfion  of  our  bows  "^  '""'">'  '»«"•<'  the 

Athird  variety  of  inow...  41,   i_ 
l«lar.  seen  beneath  the  TJ     '"'"oycombed  or  eel- 
masses.    This  ice,  though  „l''"'''°'  °"™-8^«™ 
was  sometimes  so  soft  tLtl  T  ^"^  tenacions, 

hoolc  through  it.    lUeltu^^  '"'"'''  P'""^"  »  '><«'*■ 
mesan  cheese.  '««"n'>Ied  a  grossly-ceilukr  Par- 

tmrnamHE.    2  '""gh  «'  whitleather  Kl, 

with  yater,  it  was  as  iinlieldin^ 
j^^hait.  -WewereoftSS 
IX^  "mpaoted  in  its  insi^^ 
■  fracture  nor  give  A^tnT"'-  I*  ™"'^  "«"^« 
f  e  a  cork,  iLingt  m^^^  y^™ '-""r  P'""'"  '^ 
differed  so  little  in^ecrgrav  tlfc  ""'  ""''  '* 
to  Anain  almost  suspended  A*  ^  '^"'^'^ «" 

But  the  surface  of  all  tliL  J-  J-/ ■ 
overby  fhe  leading  feator»  f  'f'^  ""^  """tied 
snow  aa  at  homS  rounH  TlT'^''"''  ''""'■■  n°« 
"'ating  tree,  hut  a::Sa Xtlf  T  ""'r*'"- 
™ch  as  resides  in  itself  ThTs  I  1.  ™"'*y  ^"« 
might  a*  first  |npJK,se  forif  ri=     •  .^u  ^  *'""'«y  "^  one 

impress  their,;shS:;tri:"1^^^^^^ 

pools  eat  themselves  int„ T  i    '  (     V""'^' ™<"''acfc 

"gain,  and  briglt  s I"  trtlV'^LTf  *'^  =  "  fr«»«^ 
"long  the  lej.  tLZ^^^L'V^I'  "■»'»'  rivers 
this  great  ma.s  of  floItW  fi'l^'r  'l''"™ '"'"  ™« 
«t"e  areas  protected  Kv^  ..' '«»™ Jiere  and  there 
P»«'s  are  ham W  t^J  '"^  '^^'-  ^'"'^^  l^ke-like 
*«  obserJ^e'S^fe  t!' J"?.*""  "i^-^  h^ 


often  obserred  theVh  S  b  of  tb  *'''  ■''™^  hav, 
^i"  of  them  -eoted  i^^::- rm^^cir; 


-<; 


<»^ 


V 


''¥, 


98 


CUJIRENTS. 


/ 


color,  the  shades  varying  from  a  rose-pink  to  a  de- 
cided red.  For  a  long  time  I  supposed  these. reflected 
images  to  be  real,  till  one  day  the  captain,  (dl^lliiigjny- 
attention  to  this  "  red  ice,"  thrust  a  boat-hook  at  it,  and 
cried  out  that  it  was  a  reflection.  This  reflected  im- 
age is  generally  very  well  defined,  and  beneath  it  there 
is  sometimes  a  secoaid  image  of  a  bluish  tinge.  The 
explanation  is  at  once  suggested  by  the  fact. 

The  movements  of  this  aggregated  plain  upon  itself 
are  even  more  incapable  of  analysis  thaii  the  great 
general  laws  of  its  drift. 

I  spent  many  days  in  trying  to  determine  the  sur- 
face currents  by  the  movements  of  the  acalephse,  es- 
pecially the  clios,  in  the  leads ;  but  the  disturbing  in- 
fluences of  th^floes  moving  upon  each  other  prevented 
any  reliable  dedjictions.  Camphor  floats  were  equally 
deceptive,  probably  from  the  same  cause.  ■*■ 

1  found,  however,  that  there  existed  in  nearly  every 
case  a  second  current,  some  one  or  two  fathoms  be- 
low the  first,  alnd  that  the  upper  of  them  generally 
followed  the  direetion  of  the  wind ;  so  that  I  regarded 
it  at  last  as  a  tolerable  index  of  the  surface  drift.  The 
second  or  inferior  current  is  more  difl[icult  to  explain 
by  rule.  It  is  influenced,  of  course,  by  the  shape  of 
the  floes,  their  various  deflecting  angles,  the  degrees 
of  resistance  they  exert,  as  determined  by  their  weight 
and  mass,  and  no  doubt  by  other  causes  of  which  we 
are  ignorant. 

Taken  in  connection  with  the  great  general  move- 
ment of  the  pack,  these  currents  form  a  complicated 
problem  of  high  practical  interest  to  those  who  navi- 
gate in  the  ice.  But  its  solution  must  be  reserved  for 
scientific  men.  Much  as  I  respect  the  ice-masters,  the 
Greenland  pilots  as  they  are  termed,  who  have  devoted 
their  lives  to  its  practical  study,  I  confess  that  I  am  al- 


FISH. 


99 


together  skeptical  as  to  their  abilitv  t. 
area  like  this.     Even  ihT  /      generalize  in  an 

trend  of  the  pack  can  ^/IT^  ""^^  «^"^«*-«'  the 
seen  the  ice  open  Lto  plralT .  T^"'"^^'  ^^^-e 
from  horizon  t^o  horilon  '^la  '"/  *'""^"'^^^  ^^"^^« 
ward,  without  any  obse^ed  j.  ^  ""  T'^'^^^  ^ft^^" 
or  temperature.  thLfcaXtX'  'd^T "*'  "^'^^' 
vilinear,  and  we  seemed  ^  7"  1'^^'^^^  ^«^«°^«  «»r. 
system  of  rotation.  ""  *^^  "^""^'^  ^^^  great 

"     but  the  red-throaTed  diver  T^Lt  ^"^  ^^^^^^^  "«^ 
Temm.)  aboundedln  thlT^f    ^'"*"'  ^eptentrionalis 
guillemots  (^n^  1"*^;^^^^^^^^^  The  black 

us  in  group  ,  or  w^re  t  JT    ^^•'""'"^^^^^^  P^«ed 
-issed  VklttLlkT    The  u"r^  ''^  ^^^^«-     ^^ 

onlybytheGlaucousandIv  ry^uSr  Th^^^^^^^ 
in  company  with  tern  ,nA  a  '"*' '""'  ^ere 

flight  which  distinS  thi  Ln""^  "■"'  ^''«='"""' 

dentin  the  Ivorvvarier       1  ^  "'  "  ««P«cially  evi. 

attractive  UrTi  Z'^l^^^'^f^^'lr^P^^",  the  mo.. 

ten,  one  "  boatswain  "  a^rrf  A  !  ?  .""'  J"®"  "fMar- 

;y  -n,  except  »  Xt'jiJrie  T^'^nT ™»»- 
these  complete  the  list  Tridactyl  gnll- 

it  often  in  fhe  surface  nl,  fh  7°^*^*-    ^^  ^"^I't 
It  never  exceeded  six  Icvlr  ^1°'"^  *«  '«^s- 

obtained  some  sp'r^^r  oHe'rn fanf 'str'"""  f""  ' 
no  less  than  three  inri;..;^    '/^'^lans.     fetrange  to  say, 

parasites,  andt^ete ^^^^^^^^^^^  ^^^^thes^ 

^covered  with  them.  ~^'^^^^^^^^ 


#k 


\ 


i^TERJNO    MELVILLE   BAT. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Our  position,  on  entering  this  pack  twenty-one  days 
ago,  was  latitude  74°  «8',  longitude  59°  04'.  Our  ob- 
servations now  gave  us  a  latitude  of  73°  54',  longitude 
60°  06' — an  average  progress  of  about  a  mile  a  day. 
We  had  therefore  been  three  weeks  completely  im- 
prisoned, and  the  seasori  Ibr  useful  search  was  rapidly 
flitting  by,  when,  On  tljle  27  th  of  July,  came  the  dawn- 
ing promise  of  escape. 

A  steady  breeze  had  been  blowing  for  several  days 
from  the  northward  and  westward,  and  under  its  in- 
fluence  the  ice  had  so  relaxed,  that,  had  not  the  A^ind 
been  dead  ahead,*  we  should  have  attempted  sails. 
Our  floe  surface,  disturbed  by  these  new  influence|^ 
gave  us  a  constantly-sftfting  topography.  It  was  cu- 
Tious  to  see  the  rapidity  of  the  transformations.     At 


BORING, 


; 


lOl 


our  bows  buried  in  hummnl  "^  °"  <""  ^^^y 

po^t  clogged  wHh  frotXdiTr-  ""'  """  ''""'■ 
lanes  were  radiating  from  us  i„  .  '  !l?  """"*«'  "P™ 
becoming  rivers,  and  puddClT^''"'^""'"'' "«''»  - 
for  five  n.inntes;evenrS  L  "?  ••■^'"P*"g  ^h^ad 
,  But  changes  ^ere^  n^n  ""h  "IT '™  ■«*'"• 
lowering,  the  gulls  hwi  left  ?,!' ,  ^  1 ''/  ^^  »"'«'™S 
fallen  te^hs  .i^fcel"  ^^Lte'T"'^*"  »^ 

4:ru^rcr::-Sir.'''^'-^er,ong 

like  *ater  was  visible  to  th„„  T  ^"'*'''  ^"^tWng 
30m.  P.M.  we  "  cit  off "  IT*  ""^  «'^*'  ■""• "«  9h 
feelings  of  joyous  relief  be^"'^^?"^r'''»''.«ith' 
wind  soon  freshened  to  a  sfTb     ?°"  *"  '<^-    This 
along  to  the  "ortheasrin  rs^*2]«'' "'  T  "-hed 
.    Broken  floes  running  out  inl  "  .         ^'*^  ''^^'S'' 
^Me^ofus;  but,  onl/t^  I.  t^.     """^   *"«  "»  »" 
bored  through  them  foTth!       u      """^  ""»"  »««.  we 
Bay.  •*  '"  *''"n«''ore  circuit  of  Melville 

,   After  a  little  whil«'tl>a  u  '  ■ 

though  onr  windTtitded  r"  '"*"""■ '  ""O  "'• 

'    hardly  be  called  a  J"  hetT  ""^  T"  "''^ '"«'  <^"l<i 

^et.in,  making  an  u£fS  ""'?'**'"'''  '^gan  *" 

«"s  indeed  by  the"wZto^     '  »»<rendered  danger. 

The  ice,  Z,  afterTlS  ^hiT    "  ^"""^  «'^ 
ratten,  halfithawed  mate  !l    r  *!'  '^'^  ""  '""^'^  the 
.  heavy  iloes  eight  or  1^^:!^  Z't  '^'^'  ^"^ 
seemed  to  stand  out  from  the l„"e  '^'  *'^'"'        ' 


^^-i£^=^^^-,^- 


'O 


t 


102 


MELVILLE    BAY. 


tumultuous  mnrifn.  Before  we  had  bored  Into  it  more 
than  ten  yards,  we  were  on  the  edge  of  a  nearly  sub- 
merged iceberg,  which,  not  being  large  enough  to  re- 
sist  the  swell,  rolled  fearfully.  The  sea  dashed  in  an 
angry  surf  over  its  inclined  sides,  rattling  the  icy  frag- 
ments or  "brash"  against  its  irregular  surface,  Our 
position  reminded  me  of  the  scenes  po  w^ll  descrijbed  i)i 
by  Beechy  in  the  voyag0  of  the  Dorothea  and  Tren^^ 
For-a  time  we  were  awkwardly  placed,  but  we  bored 
through ',  and  the  Rescue,  after  skirting  the  same  ob- 
struction, managed  also  to  get  through  without  damage. 

We  continued  to  run  along  with  our  top-sail  yard 
on  the  cap,  but  the  grpwijig  fog  made  it  impossible  to 
keep  on  our  course,  very  long.  After  several  encoan- 
ters  with  the  floating  hummocks,  we  succeeded  i;i  ty- 
.  ing  fast  to  a  heavj^floe,  which  seemed  to  "be  connected 
with  the  land,  aiwrwere  thus  moored  within  that  mys- 
terious circuit  known  as  Melville  Bay. 

It  is  during  the  transit  of  this  bay  that  most  of 
the  catastrophes  occur  which  have  made  the  statistics 
of  the  whalers  so  fearful,  It  was  hei-e,  about  twenty 
miles  to  the  south  oil  us,  that  in  one  year  more  than 
one  thousand  human  beings  wer^  cast  sh^terless  upon 
the  ice,  their  ships  ground  up  before  their /eyes.  It  is 
rarely  that  a  season  goes  by  in  whi^the,  passage  is 
attempted  withou^disaster.  4i9K|^|£> 

The  inshore  sim  of  the  indent^lwmWped  by  si 
sweep  of  glftciei;,  through  which  i^WSia^iere  the 
dark  ^headlands  of  the  coast  foVce  themselves  with  se- 
vere contrast.  Outside  of  this,  the  shore,  if  we  can 
call  it  such,  is  again  lined  with  a  heavy  ledge  of 
^d  ioe^  thicker  and  more  permanent  than  that  in 
ion.     This  extends  out  for  miles,  forming  an  icy 

argin  cmf^ftCh,  known  technically  jOs  the  **  land  ice," 


te' 


w 


BER08. 


193 


or  "the  fust."     A^ainsf  ♦»,: 

through  which  we  3  h         ™^'^'"'  *^"  ^'^^^  "^"ft" 

•  O"^  initiation  intcTthe  myst^ies  nV  fhJ         • 
"    ominous  enoagh.  ,  It  bW  a^^  4«    flT^''"  ^"' 
•  .  scene  of  noisv  onM^nti         P         ^"®  ^®"ff  was  a 

though  whii  re:&':;r ''V  """^  '•'"^■ 

driiW  by.us.    TwicI  in  T      t^        "^'^^  ^  'hey 
to  escape  these  bIJS  V        "'?''**«  ^»'«  «»"e<l  -P 

'4l:rj,:f r i^e  "i^Hr  :^"r- '''-^^ 

the  glacier.    It  was  tmlvT    '      ? "''"''''  "^  'l"™ 

toty  ooBflict;  cementedT.  1.         ^      "'"■™y  »''*"•■ 
'  «.d  lashed  iy  aT^^^^Vr.  l'  '°!^/"""  *''"'■ 

went  out  with  Caotidn T.  u  "*  '^'"'"-    ' 

more  closely.    ThThZ;?    ^T"!  *" '""«'™ 'hem 

«e  the  edges'^of  the  flJ^"T„  al;  ^"^  P"!^  ''"'"^""^^ 
times  twenty  (eet^r.  "  It  "^'"^^  ^»"«'  ^<»»e- 

>  *wgs  finniy';„t;t:itdT„?hrvrt''J!:r  r-  '•^- 

tentbnwaso^onnr««  J-      "/"®  ^*«t  Plam.     Our  at- 

'      which  we"  d^nrJZ^''  >»«- »-io«sly  to  those 

we  could  not  he^D  Lti  ^  »Pon  the  open  water;  but 

..;rth^  st^i^ni^rrr  -ChS:r 

"^  nt  uua  uffi^,  „4,^  nrsTgave  nre  the  idea 


104 


A    RACE. 


of  a  great  under-current  to  tjie  northward.  Their  drift 
followed  some  system  of  advance  entirely  independent 
of  the  wind,  and  not  apparently  at  variance  with  the 
received  views  of  a  great  southern  current.  On  the 
night  of  the  30th,  while  the  surface  ice  or  floe  was 
drifting  to  the  southward  with  the  wind,  the  hergs 
were  making  a  northern  progress,  crushing  through 
the  floes  in  the  very  eye  of  the  breeze  at  a  measured 
rate  of  a  mile  and  a  half  an  hour.  The  disproportion 
that  uniformly  subsists  between  the  submerged  and 
upper  masses  of  a  floating  berg  makes  it  a  good  index 
of  the  deep  sea  current,  especially  when  its  movement 
is  against  the  wind.  I  noticed  very  many  ice-mount- 
ains traveling  to  the  north  in  opposition  to  both  wind 
and  surface  ice.  One  of  them  we  recognized  five  days 
afterward,  nearly  a  hundred  miles  on  its  northern 
journey. 

In  the  so-called  night,  "  all  hands"  were  turned  to, 
and  the  old  system  of  warping  was  renewed.  The 
unyielding  ice  made  it  a  slow  process,  but  enough 
was  gained  to  give  us  an  entrance  to  som&  clear  wa- 
ter about  a  mile  in  apparent  lengtlj.  While  we  were 
warping,  one  of  these  current-driven  bergs  kept  us 
constant  company,  and  at  one  time  it  was  a  regular 
race  between  us,  for  the  narrow  passage  we  were 
striving  to  reach  would  have  been  completely  bam- 
caded  if  our  icy  opponent  had  got  ahead. 

This  exciting  race,  against  wind  and  drift,  and  with 
the  Rescue  in  tow,  was  at  its  height  when  we  reached 
a  point  where,  by  warping  around  our  opponent,  we 
might  be  able  to  mak^  sail.  Three  active  men  were 
instantly  dispatched  to  prepare  the  warps.  One  took 
charge  of  the  hawstfr,  and  another  of  the  iron  crow  or 
chisel  which  is  used  to  cut  the  hole]  the  third,  a 


OUR     PROSPECTS. 


105 


brawny  seaman,  named  CosfA  «,„    •    ^, 
ing  the  anchor  Lnd  drivi„;  u  CI""  f"  "^  °^«« 
-lid  ice.  when,  with  a  «e  Ln/^r  "*"  ""' 
ran  across  the  ber?  anW  »1^  i         """"^ef.  »  crack 
about  twice  the  sSjlr  r     '"'*^"^  *  ^^'"t 
rest    One  man  remafneS  „f 'K  T  '"™''''  *■"»  «>« 
mass,  a  second  es"^:dXSl?t°r:''"»'='P'^ 
and  chain  shrouds  of  thTboZrif  buf°  "'^V"?^^ 
anchor  and  ail,  disappeared  i^fc     V        ,''°°''  "^^to! 
ciful  Godsend,'  the  S™  fra^^'^j  A"  "'^'• 
so  cleanly  that  when  it  J,^  ^  ^'"^^'^  off 

rractured  surf^t, tn2  bro^ht  n^?^  "''"'''  *"« 
alo"«  with  it.  Scar^  5t  deftb  >.''""^  ^^'^l*' 
by  the  captain  as  he  pass^  th  t  ^  "  '''*'  <^»Sht 
safe  on  board     ThL  Z^  thejib-boom,  and  broniht 

o»r  cruise,  wt  J^^^:^-^^  ^-^  ear,/in 
by  obser^tion  and  chron  °"  P"^'"™' ««  determined 

2r',  longitudT.r'so  rXwinr  '"",'-'*  '^°  o^' 

»"<!  greatest  ice  d^lult^S  d^"  h^*"" 
Our  prospects  were  far  from  oh^rv  °  Thf  *  '  ""• 
complete  consolidation  when  wf!7'  ,  ™*"'"  "^^ 
gation  of  these  seas,  «nW  notT  ""^  *••«  »""■ 
fifty  days  Ioni»r  ^J  „  V?  "*  P«'Poned  beyond 

«ek  had  been  «"r.n!l'  temperature  for  the  p««t 

l'»urs  of  low  sun  th',.       "J^  *'™«'  ^"ring  the 

Wat  an  idTa  t ^VeTo^e"'::?*'^  I""  '"'"'  'W-"^ 

think  that  thi.  J„.^         ofthe  Arotio  winter,  to 

JB«**»t  «Hrsh„t^„„  rs  natu«,'s  only  co-S^J^— 


106 


COLD    SUNSHINE. 


sation  for  tlie  eight  months  of  constant  freezing  that 
fill  up  the  year.  Our  thermometers  to-day  fell  to  28° ; 
our  mean  for  the  entire  twenty-four  hours  was  but  32° 
9',  not  quite  a  degree  above  the  freezing  point. 

'''August  2.  'Warping!'     Tired  of  the  very  word! 
About  2  P.M.  a  lead,  less  obstructed  than  its  fellows, 
enabled  us  to  crowd  on  the  canvas,  and  sail  with  gen- 
tle airs  for  about  two  miles  to  the  eastward,  and  then,  ^, 
losing  what  little  wind  we  had,  we  tied  up  Again,t«^| 
our  friend  the  land  ice;  the  little  Rescue,  as  usu%a /. 
few  yards  astern.  '.    ■  ^ 

"We  have  learned  to  love  the  sunshine,  though  we 
have  lost  the  night  that  gives  it  value  to  others.  It 
comes  back  to  us  this  evening,  after  the  gale,  with  a 
circuit  of  sps-rkling  and  imaginative  beauty,  like  the 
spangled  petticoat  of  a  ballet-dancer  in  full  twirl  to  a 
boy  on  his  first  visit  to  the  opera.  I  borrow  the  com- 
parison  from  one  of  my  mess-mates ;  but,  in  truth,  all 
this  about  sunshine  and  warmth  is  only  compara- 
tive at  the  best,  for,  though  writing  on  deck,  '  out  of 
doors,'  as  they  say  at  home,  the  thermometers  give  us 
but  43° " 


1  y   ■ 

1 

t   : 

::    i 
1 

1 

1 

UMAi'iia  or  t 

BBBO. 

r 

m 

« 

'v 

i       1 

■ 

V 

'"  4   too. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Here,  with  the  new  «n?.h"iu''''**'>' "<''•''•  "f'*"- 
broke  upon  „s     Xt  wir^'"'' .*■•"  *^'«'»"'»»''  "h"* 

«  of  g„ei.:  a'd  oreXmfT"  P^""''"^"''- 
figuration  of  theirsuriW  'P'''"  ''*"'''^-  ^he  con. 
eighteen  mileshL  »„      '       '^"  ^""^  »  ''i''«nce  of 

My  first  f..i;  '"'>'  *«™  erected. 

of  the  Alps      BSMhtfLT"  '■'"''''  *"  *'«'  glaciers 
amazement,     if  i'  1 '!  [^1 "?  "*""  S»™  ?'■«=«  *» 


^■£.^, 


« 


108 


HEIGHT    OF    BERGS. 


luents  of  ice  growth.  -Before  us  was  an  extended  area 
of  ice,  rising  by  a  regular  talus  till  it  cut  against  the  sky, 
at  the  height  of  perhaps  nine  hundred  feet.  Its  area, 
visible  to  the  eye,  measured  rudely  from  two  project- 
ing headlands,  was  about  forty  miles  by  ten  in  one 
unbroken  sweep ;  and  its  edges,  where  it  entered  the 
sea,  were  abrupt  precipices,  resembling  the  terrace- 
work  of  trap-rocks. 

The  icebergs  were  very  numerous :  I  counted  two 
hundred  and  eight  within  the  horizon ;  ^nd  the  in- 
shore or  glacier  face  was  quite  choked  ■wiih.  grounded 
masses,  the  mate  recent  product  of  this  great  manufac- 
tory. Bbr.  <StiffiB,  who  visited  one  of  ihsm  impacted 
in  the  floe,  estimated  its  heiglit  by  the  fall  of  a  bullet 
and  a  seconds'  watch  at  three  hundred  and  eighty  feet. 
This  was,  of  course,  only  an  approximation ',  but  the 
characteristic  accuracy  of  the  gentleman  whose  esti- 
mate it  was,  makes  it  certain  that  the  altitude  of  this 
berg  exceeded  three  hundred  feet,  a  height  which  our 
subsequent  observations  proved  to  be  of  rare  occurrence. 

Baffin's  Bay  is  not  only  the  vapat  abundant  source 
of  icebergs  known,  but  their  magnitude  here  is  great- 
er,  probably,  than  any  where  else.  The  greatest  alti- 
tude of  antarctic  ice  mountains  reported  by  Forster  was 
"100  feet  and  upward."  Graah's  highest,  on  the  east 
coast  of  Greenland,  did  not  exceed  120  feet ;  Scores- 
by's,  in  the^pitzbergen  seas,  200  feet ;  and  Beechey's, 
in  Magdalena  Bay,  not  exceeding  the  same  height ; 
while  Sir  John  Ross  measured  one  in  this  very  bay 
of  325  feet  in  height  by  1200  long.  Our  own  greatest 
sextant  measurement,  with  a  floe  serving  for  a  base 
line,  gave  us  260  feet ;  but  we  met  others  much  higher. 
One  of  these  bergs  presented  a  long  inclined  talus, 
which  was  evidently  part  of  an  originiil  slope,  unaltered 


FOGS. 


109 


xvy 

by  after  changes  in  eauilihrinm     1 1, 

interesting  changes  ?n  th"  ,  """'*''  '»"'« 

surface  snows,  esteblishil^r""''"'  """'"*''»'  "f  i*^ 

of  diameter  XthL  t        ^  """'  ^"^""^  '""'^ 
the  Alpine  N^  '**"  '"•^™'l  '"  ^e  grains  of 

etefnTJ^ing  I'Uitf  Z^"'"  '"^*'  »  *"« 
toward  us  Tte  floe^.  "  '^*'  *''"'«''  '^^"eiy 
to  take  („  the  wat  wT"  '°  '''"*™*^  *''«*  ^e  h  J 
pursued  himTnlol'  1"  "  ,'!^^  '*""'  *''<'  »««»«« 
^in  the  ice;  bu^-^rufSTu^riuttr"  *" 

feoting';  foot^^r^^'':''^,-™^^^^^^  '-  »f- 
But,  although  wounded  h.  j   ."'  ^"^'^  y^^- 

tinning  his  ICh  w^  1  jit  fT*  """  '"*'  »'"*•  <=»"■ 

Our  progress  t^d"  bv "  ^r?  *'"'  "^'^'«'-  ' 
'«ili»g;  but  in  thislICresort  we""^  '"^"^  ■""• 
iment,  the  "  voun<r  "  J  ,  !  •  f.  °'°'  *  "«*  'mped- 
the  ..  bay  ice^°  TW,  f  . "  ?"""  ""y  *«  ^^alers. 
an  inch  S  whit^  t  H  '  ''"'"«  I"'""''  °«»riy 
iuto  onr  sides  Se  gL^"'w"""t^  ""  -''y-  <=" 
M.  but  then  a  thicf'fog  oh^edTs^^ -'• - 

ter  was  .  f7w  dellf        "'  T''™  **■»  ^"'"^  «», 

which  w«  ;:nX  juTr  ftt"  "^  "*■""'"'-- 

however,  the%„nve  Je  Z  he^'TT"'  '  ''°"' 

The  bett  of  condensation  was  singularly  weUdI^.l 
.Althonghwecould  not  di8tih™,,,Li,i.L*f"  "^^^ 


-  11.1,-1.    """""sanon  was  singularly  well  rf.fi„  i' 
^thoughwe<»„W  not  distii,g„isfobjefts  tf^^t 


'f 


"  lipl'.TM'lHu.  illH>li.liim»i.     iM«i 


liWMipiliiff.i   «il<toii«.Mi_#^ 


'  1<,rj-l^>f»»f^^)', ! '  -J.UWigg^ 


t 


110 


DECEPTIONS    0F>  FOG. 


off  on  the  level  of  the  decks,  every  thing  was  clearly- 
discernible  at  an  elevation  of  forty  feet,  I  saw  dis- 
tinctly, the  surrounding  bergs  rising  above  a  sea  of 
mist.  • 

One"  phenomenon,  however,  struck  me  as  novel :  at 
least  I  have  never  seen  it'  described.  Jt  was  this: 
Though  the  bergs  were  thus  obscured  at  their  bases 
by  a  dense^  plain  of  vapor,  the  Rescue,  at  an  equal  dis- 
tance, was  visible  throughout  her  entire  extent,  encir- 
cled  as  by  an  oriole  in  a  clear  atmosphere.  Repeated 
observations  have  suggested  to  me  this  explanation  of 
this  phenomenon. 

These  fogs,  due  to  local  refrigeration,  We  merely  ex* 
cgptional  breaks-in  upon  our  pervading  sujishine.  They 
are  generally  temporary,  and  the  stratum  of  precipita- 
tion is  so  narrow  that  the  sun  is  hardly  intercepted. 
Evaporation-  contin,ues  as  before ;  the  decks  arO  dry 
and  heated ;  and  the  radiating  influences  of  the  vessel 
while  stationary  invest  it  with  a  sort  of  dome  or  halo 
of  transparency.  I  have  noticed  this  effect  when  look- 
ing at  one  of  our  brigs  from  on  board  the  other,  and 
have  found  that,  if  the  sun  was  obscured  for  an^  length 
of  time,  the  hull  disappeared,  and  the  upper  rigging 
only  protruded  from  a  sea  of  mist.  My  sketch  at  the 
"  head  of  this  chapter  will  show  some  ^  of  the  curious 
phases  of  this  phenomenon. 

The  effects  of  fogs  upon  our  (estimation  of  dimension 
and  disitance  are  well  known :  men  are  magnified  "to 
giants,  and  brigs  "  loorfT  up,"  as  the  sailors  term  it, 
into  ships  of  the  line.  They  are  especially  interesting 
among  the  icebergs  of  this  region.  Two  bergs  were 
measured  trigonometrically  on  the  4th,  with  a  careful- 
ly ascertained  base-line  of  four  hundred  yards.  One 
of  these,  which  I  had  estimated  by  eye  as  nearly  three 


DECEPTIVE    DISTANCES.  m 

hundred  feet  high,  gave  but  eighty-four.     A  second 

measured  by  Captain  Griffin,  give  but  forty    I  h^^' 

Cht     i' rr*'  "  *"  ^  "'"'  *^°  ""ndrJd  feet  ^ 

tributes  this  effect  to  an  in:;:^"irh?^rarr  dt 

IncTitse  f  wT  T  *'"  '"'^  ^"'^  -«Srff  dt 
tance  itself  falls  under  an  interesting  class  of  dccen 

tions  almost  convertible  with  the  other,  and  ifkTu 

dependent  on  the  educated  habitudes  of  tke  eye     oir 

deas  of  distance  determine  our  appreoiatioro^maTi 

^tLs,y":p;,i:;tif^:*- Henry,  T"" "-  - 

relative  motim,  "TiT     "7^^  ""  apprehensitm  of 
fn.m  tirrncelJrs-elJer  "'""^  """"'"'-^ 

.ev^IlTrrhtlXr  erj-eaf  ^^^^^^^       ^«    ! 

=oftt';*roraT^"^^^^^ 

mo  young  ice  on  a  larffe  scale     Whon  *u 

Ucles  about  the'si  Jo^a^I^lri:  "'vZt'^'- 
««oular  rays  shoot  out  in  every  direciiflT.i'"' 
very  little  while  interlock  theZ,lvr  fa  2  '"  t 
of  crystals.  The  ice  film  is  non^mZ"  it  a7* 
minutes  more  it  has  thickened  to  Zet L  »„H  7 
comes  dangerous  to  navigators     0„!f'    I    ^ 


T 


tmmmfH' 


112 


BEROS. 


Advance  herself,  though  plated  with  iron  as  perhaps 
no  other  vessel  has  heen,  showed  unequivocal  marks 
of  damage  upon  her  sheathing.  She  was  heeled  over, 
and  fortified  with  three  additional  strips  of  holier  iron, 
extending  back  from  her  cut- water  to  her  beam. 

Our  position  was  immediately  opposite  Duneira 
Bay,  or,  more  exactly  speaking,  within  it,  at  the  dis- 
tance of  perhaps  twelve  miles  from  the  shore.  The 
scenery  was  peculiar,  wanting  the  sameness  which 
generally  characterizes  an  Arctic  landscape,  and  the 
atmosphere  so  bright  that  -we  could  see  every  wrinkle 
on  the  face  of  the  hills.  An  immense  glacier  formed 
a  parapet  wall  of  white  masonry  at  their  feet.  On  the 
other  side  of  us  was  what  had  been  the  sea,  a  ragged 
surface  of  ice,  unbroken  except  by  the  black  rivers 
which  wound  themselves  among  its  ridges,  and  here 
and  there  by  the  pinnacle  of  a  projecting  iceberg.  Be- 
yond came  the  varying  horizon  of  icebergs ;  and  still 
further  on,  shaded  towers  and  sunlit  pyramids  of  ice 
penciled  their  fantastic  outlines  against  the  sky.  The 
sun,  at  its  midnight  elevation  of  three  degrees,  bathed 
the  whole  hemisphere  in  the  purple  light  of  our  Amer- 
ican sunset. 

,  The  bergs  were  an  interesting  subject  of  study.  I 
counted  one  morning  no  less  than  two  hundred  and 
ten  of  them  from  our  decks,  forming  a  beaded  line  from 
the  N.N.W.  to  the  8.S.E.  It  was,  in  fact,  an  investing 
chain  of  ice  mountains,  for  the  offsets  from  the  glaciers 
completed  an  apparent  circle. 

As  we  warped  slowly  along,  I  had  an  opportunity 
of  partially  measuring  some  of  them.  One,  a  magnif- 
icent specimen  of  ice  architecture,  was  195  feet  high; 
another  was,  on  its  longest  face,  310  fathohis,  or  1860 
feet :  its  height  was  140  feet ;  and,  reducing  its  mass 


•9mm 


^     • 


i«i*«Pl!!!MW 


mi 


r 


r 


■^> 


t 


to  a 
have 
-  >  Tl 
allov 
Appl 
ter  f 
ment 
wate 
we  hi 

8oti4 

its  W( 

than  1 

coast 

we  88 

of  wh 

Ma] 

From 

edge, 

which 

allhel 

enite, 

them 

angula 

even  hi 

regnlai 

mere  p 

powder 

ly  chan 

rocks  h; 

there  b< 

cillatioi 

Othei 

raines  t! 

ited  mai 


f'^lW 


FORMATION    OP    BERas. 


113 


u 


tc  a  parallelopipedon,  its  remaining  side  could  not 
have  been  less  than  1000  feet 

The  symmetrical  character  of  this  great  body  of  ice 
allowed  me  to  estimate  its  magnitude  and  weight 
Applying  the  recognized  proportion  of  8.2  below  wl' 
ter  for  1  above,  and  assuming,  as  Scoresby's  expeit 
ments  seem  to  iuftfifv  ♦i.o*  ♦k-_i    ^  /     ^iperi- 

water  in  th.  r,      ,J  ""rty-five  cubic  feet  of 

water  in  the  Greenland  seas  have  a  weight  of  one  ton 

^wZZTo?:."  T'  ■^""-^  of  cubic  fte":?!^' 
to  wetlt'  /  .J*'^;*'"'  "  ""'"""^  "f  tons  for 
L^tu  .T  *'""■**'"*  »'  'o»»t  one  third  lareer 

than  the  one  which  Scoresby  measured  on  the  easS 

we  sa*r  others  afterward  still  more  stupendous  one 
of  which  I  measured  topographically.  ' 

Many  of  the  bergs  were  covered  with  detritus 
From  one  which  had  thawed  down  tolhe  « 
edge  I  obtained  some  specimens  of  different^^ks 

«U  belonged  to  the  primary  series— quartz  ffneisa  «v 
emte,  angitic  gree„.sto„e  and  clVsIate^SoS  o'f' 
them  were  marked  with  well-deflLd  striie  whhout 

rLrttf  •  ™°°*'''  '»''  occasionalty'p:;  sH 
even  nighly ;  others  were  cut  in  facets  nf  rr.r,Z      r 
reOTilnri'fv      Tk^  •    1  .  facets  qi  more  or  fess 

regularity  They  varied  in  size  from  large  blocks  to 
mere  pebbles,  conglomerated  in  the  ice  with  finel^ 
powdered  gneissoid  material..  The  be^  had  e^det." 
L?T^^/*'  equilibrium;  audit  seemed  as  inh^t 
ocks  had  been  cemented  in  its  former  base  and  hL 

'ted  matenal  h«I  ,  Imear  arrangement,  as  if  dmp^    " 


^1 


,.^ 


114 


FORMS    OF    BKRG3. 


in  series  during  the  progress  of  the  original  glacier. 
In  one  instance  ah  escarped  face  of  berg  waa  impressed 
in  intaglio  lyith  the^  mould  of  the  cliff  from  which  it 
had  been  severed,  and  the  upper  ^natgmal  line  was 
studded  with  j^ngular  and  attrited  fragments,  evident- 
ly deposited  during  thq[  movement  of  the  glacier.  This 
interesting  fact,  which  I  have  not  found  noticed  in  any 
of  the  books,  admitted  of  no  deception.  We  could  not 
stop  to  collect  specimens,  but  I  had  time  to  make  an 
accurate  sketch  of  the  section,  and  was  near  enough 
to  recognize  the  schistose  character  of  the  adhering 
detritus. 

The  glacier,  although  too  distant  for  nice  observa- 
tion, showed  h.pw  vety  readily  such  a  debacle  might 
carry  with  it  not  only  the  impression  of  its  valley  side, 
but  rudimentary  moraine  traces,  deposited  from  the 
ridges  adjacent  and  abqye.  With  a  Fraiinhofer  glass, 
I  cojild  see  that  the  dark  knob-like  protrusions,  which 
rose  here  and't^ere  above  the  surface  of  the  glacier, 
were  the  presenting  faces  of  hills  that  went  back  in 
winding  ridges,  on  both  sides  of  which  a  discolored 
line  indicated  the  accuoiulatidn  of  detritus. 

The  forms  of  these  tergs  were  constantly  varying 
under  the  actioii  .of  the  waves  and  the  consequent 
changes  in  their  equilibrium.  Many  of  them  were  in- 
terjesting,  some^  fantastic,  and  some  occasionally  beau- 
tiful for  their  symmetry ;  but  I  do  not  think  they  im- 
pressed  us  as  vividly  as  they  se^n  to  have  done  other 
voyagers  with  their  resemblance  to  more  familiar  ob- 
jects. Except  when  they  came  to  u^  embellished  by 
refraction,  we  had  few  of  these  imaginative  pictures. 
Yet  there  was"  about  the  forms,  and  the  coloring  also, 
trf  the  berg  ice,  a  harmonious  variety  and  grace,  that 
=ne€ded  no  prototype  to  commend  tfaem»—  — ^ 


.„»i«iSS»»T.Mte 


4? 


DECEPTIVE    DISTANCES.  ^^ 

denting  all  the  varieties  of  ZT  «  '"'''*'="»  P'*-- 
theae  were  of  the  i^ti;  dt«  "^T^'Tr '  ""* 
structures,  where  the  d«LT  '^  ™-  '"  ">«  »'<1«> 
air  were  aided  by  IsS;"^""™  "^  *«  »»"  "-"l 
■with  these  eonsti^rsWfti'^  "!"?«  '^''°*"<'».  »"<! 
change*  had  a  m„  "^'  ^LT"  f""*""""'  *"« 
natural  bridges,  terrl^s^'^JZ^'V"*"''^'- 

of  SrtS,^'^:::'^!:?  ^o  --Ped  faces 

ing  bottoms  rfpure^4t„d'f  "T'  "'"'  "■«'- 
wilt  crustacean  life   Tsrh;       ^-^^  *"  '^^^  *«'™"g 

occasion,  while  Ig^JoL?-'"""';' ''''''™''''« 
Mr.Murdaugh,  <»  net  some^f  r''  ""*  "y  f™»<l, 
mostraca,  I  brought  ,m  T       f  ^*™  misplaced  ent«. 

"ith  cuiite  rfcpzsr/rattr- '»''' 

the  pure  surface  of  this  icy  basin  "•"  "'"'' 

so  palpable  an  element  Cb!        '  ^"''' ''  ^'*  ™ 
«»pe,w.sso,wlytoT'"  *!■* '^'"P'^'tion  of  a  land. 

background  ^  a  W  Sr™*"*  ^*'"*'"^  *'" 
tbe  estimate  of  both  Sd!  iT""''  "^  "»«•  I" 
tbe  iceberg  waTa^:;^:  t^^^H  "'*»"»• 
started  for  a  berg  fast  in  Tbf  ?  !'  .  ^  """^  "ft"" 
withi,  musket-sh^ot,  »d,"^;J:"t  «»;•  «»»ingly 

bou.founditaappaknti.:^,::^^^"'^'" 
On  one  occasion,  when  ensaffed  w,> V. 
r  in  m  attompt  tu  W.^^  .^^^^  our  command 


^   I 


-^'   f 


-^----pH»  .^^11^  -:  »--^ 


^ 


j=*i.* 


116 


BIRDS. 


with  detritus,  which  we  expected  to  reach  in  a  few 
minutes,  a  hard  hour's  pull  left  us  the  meagre  satis- 
faction of  finding  the  object  perched  on  the  summit 
of  a  lofty  berg,  whose  base  was  even  then  below  the 
horizon.  That  isolated  projection  upon  an  expanded 
level,  and  destitution  of  points  of  comparison,  which 
make  the  pyramids  so  deceptive  to  the  Egyptian  trav- 

'^  eler  as  he  approaches  them  over  the  desert,  have  an 

equally  marked  application  to  the  icebergs  of  the  Polar 
Seas. 

»  We  had  been  struck,  as  I  have  mentioned  already, 

by  the  absence  of  birds  since  our  approach  to  the  mid- 
dle ice.     Now,  however,  our  stay  had  been  so  pro- 
longed, that  the  absent^ne  began  to  meet  us  on  theii 
j  return.    Among  the  first  and  most  welcome  was  the 

^       little  Auk,  the  Rotg6  of  the  whalers,  coming  down  from 
its  breeding-places  in  the  still  further  north. 

This  bird,  the  Uria  alle  of  Temminck,  occupies,  ac- 
cording to  the  ornithologists,  a](i  intermediate  position 
between  the  Auk  and  the  Guitt^mot.  It  is  of  the  size 
of  a  partridge,  fat,  and  delicately  flavored ;  and  it  came 
to  us  in  such  immense  flocks  as  to  form  a  highly  im- 
portant  addition  to  our  diet  list. 

Indeed,  no  other  bird  migrates  in  such  numbers,  or 
contributes  so  largely  to  the  pleasures  of  the  Arctic 
table.  Sir  James  Ross,  in  the  Investigator,  killed 
four  thousand ;  and  Mr.  Martin,  of  the  whale-ship  En- 
terprise, who  received  the  parting  farewell  of  Sir  John 
Franklin  in  this  region,  assures  us  that  this  far-sighted 
commander  had  killed  and  salted  down  so  many  of 
'  these  birds  as  to  augment  his  resources  by  nearly  a 
two  years'  supply  of  food.  For  ourselves,  without  any 
special  organization  for  the  pursuit,  we  shot  enough 
^  them,  from  the4ime  of  their  arrival  tiUr^we^eatered 


jMfa-i^p 


j^      HUL' 


,m^ 


A': 


iR^Vii 


^»^ 


•\ 


BIRDS. 


117 


They  were  first  seen  on  the  6th,  flvin„  ;„  j^f^i.  . 
part.es  to  the  southeast  and  iejZ^ri^^''^, 
hours  of  low  sun  to  the  floes      A«  +i,«,  I  "unng  tne 

Aun.e™.,  they  would  cor:hest*Z^^;rr 
es,  so  crowding  the  m«gins  of  the  floes  and  tK" 

i^  on  f  e  oS^es^L'^irr:' ti  y':.tt 

approached  near  enough  to  be  knockei  down^a 
po  es  and  boat-hooks.     The  whalers  even  shit  tC 

m  n.„re  tfan  a  .ZZVl  HZtlZr"  *" 


*.\  v\. 


■=!& 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


August  7.  This  morning  our  friends  of  the  Rescue 
killed  a  bear.  His  curiosity  cost  him  his  life.  When 
first  seen,  he  was  swimming  toward  the  brig,  breaking 
the  newly- formed  ice  with  his  fore  paws.  Findiii| 
his  progress  by  this  method  unsatisfactory,  he  made  a 
succession  of  dives,  coming  up  each  time  nearer  his 
assailants,  who  were  advancing  to  meet  him  in  a  boat. 
He  had  a  strange  look  as  he  rose  after  one  of  these 
submersions,  breaking  the  ice  with  his  upward  mo- 
mentum, panting,  and  shaking  his  head  like  a  dog  to 
free  it  from  the  water.  Captain  Griffin^  who  was  one 
of  our  best  shots,  lodged  a  ball  under  his  left  shoulder 
without  effect.  Several  other  bullets  struck  him  be- 
fore he  turned  to  get  away ;  and  even  when  one  of 
them  had  severed  the  lumbar  vertebrae,  the  hardy  an- 
'imal  regained  the  floe,  dragging  after  him  his  para- 
lyzed extremity.  In  this  condition  he  was  brought  to- 
bay,  and  received  the  coup-de-grace  from  a  bayonet. 

This  bear  had  a  coating  of  fat  round  the  back 
and  abdomen,  which  measured  nearly  three  inches. 


When  the  animalls  in  good  condition,  this  investing 


,,,«'.. 


.-jte' 


BEAR    HUNT. 


119 


He  is  *h««f„^  i'y  V;„*rK'  '^''^*"*^- 

we  ate  liWally  of  his  "teatni.J   '^r^*"'  '^' 
somewhat  of  Kmp  oU  ^"^^  *'">'  ™™"'' 

«^- "Thetha^l",^"C  T'i  "^  *''-^^- 
neous  eruption-  and  Sc^rlT     t  "  P"^'«»'  »  outa- 

from  its  poisonou  £  Kn°  '"°^'"'™S  -^i"^' 
"Pon  which  the  be^etfly  fXf  i\t  "'"• 
nutritious  throuehont  T  A^7     -J      P»'"'*''Ue  and 

what  anomalons  fet  of  ,  t^™'"*''  *"  **^'  *'"'  »»»*■ 

™m  and  th«ef^*:iTe7:TyT; '";  '•"^■ 

effect  irom  it.    On  the  cnnf,,„   v  ^'       '"""''  ■">  "' 

during  the  t^r^  *  rr  Sf""*"'"^  "■«' 

jected  by  the  crew.    ThisMel  wwlfc  h  "^  "°™'-'«- 
generally  into  our  syste^a  .t  bol'''*  ^r  "T'/'^^ 

:ri:;iiis:irrof^-' ^ -^^^^^^ 

expenence  of  our  party.  ^  ^^*^  *^® 

Three  days  after  this  we  ha^  another  hunt     Thr 
bears  were  seen  stalkinff  over  iha  fl^T  1  \    ^**^®® 

almost  at  the  same  2ment  ft  ^  """^  ^"^'  ^'^^ 

ed  on  the  land  icT    WM?  ^^  """'"  ^«''«  ^«P«rt- 

party  to  a^ttLMhosr^o^Z  H  'r^^*^^  "^^^ 
Mrater  ahead  of  Z  LTll  ^^  ''^^  ^^  *«  *he 
-warn  W^Td  the  hrir   T^^^^^^  oH  fo^uation, 

was  not  wider  than  The  Sch^^^^  T -- 

^wfttttes  therefore  broualif  «„,  k^fx  ._•., .     T'^P*®^  ^— = 


M+K»«fe,  V    •'^''"'i^"*"'P8.  and  a  coup 
Bs  therefore  brought  our  boat  within  s^ 


4ii^, 


.i.* 


-,.♦  \ 


120 


WARM    FOG. 


The  animals  showed  no  signs  of  fear ;  instead  of 
retreating,  they  bore  directly  down  upon  us.  Imagine 
three  huge  beasts,  of  the  largest  size  seen  in  our  men- 
ageries, in  white  contrast  with  the  dark  water ;  their 
mouths  open,  as  is  their  custom  in  swimming ;  aid  so 
close,  tji^t  you  could  see  their  teeth  shinjng  over  their 
dew-laps.  , 

I  do  not  think  that  we  distinguished  ourselves. 
The  captain's  gun  missed  fire ;  and  I  reserved  mine 
for  an  occasion  that  never  came.  Mr:  Lovell  deposit- 
ed hi,s  bullet  in  the  base  of  the  brain,  killing  his  ani- 
mal at  first  shot ;  but,  while  we  were  securing  him, 
the  rest  turned  tail,  gained  the  floe,  and  escaped. 

August  9.  The  day,  although  warm  and.  delight- 
ful, with  a  temperature  at, noon  of  38°,  became  to- 
ward its  close  suddenly  obscured  by  fog.  Our  sensa- 
tions of  cold  attendant  upon  this  change  v^ere  sin- 
gularly disproportioned  to  the  thermometrical  indica- 
tions. At  8  P.M.,  the  temperature  of  the  surface  wa- 
ter, which  had  previotlsly  been  31°,  suddenly  rose  to 
36° ;  the  air  falling  to  29°.  This,  while  it  had  a  direct 
connection  with  the  fog,  was  interesting,  as  it  marked 
the  presence  of  a  belt  of  warm  water,  surrounded  by 
the  same  ice  iiiftuences  which  depressed  it  before.  I 
have  had  repeated  occasion,  while  passing  through  this 
bay,  to  remark  these  sudden  elefvations  of  tempera- 
ture in  the  surface  water:  the  large  areas  office  in 
their  immediate  neighborhood  make  the  fact  worth 
noting.  ^ 

During  this  fog,  we  made  fast  ta  a  permanent  floe, 
awaiting  our  consort,  the  Rescue.  The  ice  mean- 
while drifted  rapidly  to  the  northward  and  westward 
while  the  wind  was  from  the  opposite  quarter. 

We  sighted  to-day  a  second  spire  of  trap,  r^embling 


4- 


^j 


■»<««>o™»*«mi; 


v-. 


"  '^  I-*!*!'  ■^i.wjpfV,*    . 


ROUGH    WEATHER. 


121 


'     '  the  Devil's  Thumb     Tf  «      r 

'neit;  so  aamed  by  sl  l^h     »   *^«'''i'>«'»  Menu- 

which  aie  marlced  on  the  th    .       1;     '''''«  i«'«<l3 

not  see,  though  wepts^dne t  f-  ^™"''^"  *«  -'i* 

"^«?^*  10.  Another  davof        r""'^*  P-^Mo". 

i"  the  Mediterranean  th  J  ™  u"""""-    '«'«™  *« 

■  »ty.  It  ends  with  th;  .V^tCt  T  ^  »  *»™" 
etera  fell  at  four  A.M  toS  a^  '  ?"  ■»»''  thermom- 
tions  with  Green's  standard  t         '^^"^•'^'^4 

.    ^  the  difference  betw^„  [be  ^™.°"''™  ^™  "S* 
noomlay.    The  y„„„gT^  wl^^^^^  ""»  *a<ie  at 

-Myri^ids  of  Auks  were  .ernlTd  T"^  ""  '""h  «"*• 
slaughtered.  "'  ""^  *«  "™aJ  supply  duly 

■^  -aent  peninsula  or  ^i^Z'^^  "^  '"«■  «**- 

■  the  redXrtrSytfr^  ^T  '''™-  -"-' 
open  leads  multiply^  Cwl' ^  /"'^''/*°«'°-  The 
fifteen  miles  N.N  W"  '  ""''«'•  ««'  about 

-t»i  r  ^^d^r  'rsj'  t"' '--"  - 

horizon,  ^uttin|„utricewlL'''*5,rV'""*  *"« 
had  opened  before  with  a  slendJ^-  J?'  '^'^-  ^hioh 
™rd,  now  shed  off  d^y  t^athsT  '""**"  "'"*''■ 
«o  dose  rapidly.  ^       "'^  "'^^now,  »nd  began 

Moving  along  in  our  Iitti«  „• 
served  it  grfwi^    aim"  tZ.    "™'  ^'^-  ^»  ob. 
»id  every  now  Ld  then^b      °™'  '^'  ""^gation, 
'tre^hed  out  toward  to  'ad^Z,:  "^^^^^^  '^ 
ran  the  gauntlet  between  tbJT^  '«.  ''e  had  to 

It  fa  under  these  Zl«r  ?*°""«  "'"P'"- 
•%  outride,  anTa  W^t^""''  ^^  *  ^al'  ?«">• 


^^^^-^=^^.1% 


-  i' 


122 


HUMMOCKINO. 


I         t 


by  a  fearful  experience,  seek  protecting  bights  among 
the  floes  or  cut  harbors  in  the  ice.  For  us,  the  word 
delay  did  not  enter  into  our  commander's  thoughts. 
We  had  not  purchased  caution  by  disaster ;  and  it 
was  essential  to  success  that,  we  should  make  the 
most  of  this  Godsend,  a  "slant"  from  the  southeast. 

We  pushed  on ;  but  the  Rescue,  less  fortunate  than 
ourselves,  could  not  follow.  She  was  jammed  in  be- 
tween  two  closing  surfaces.  We  were  lookmg  out 
for  a  temporary  niche  in  which  to  secure  ourselves, 
when  we  were  challenged  to  the  bear  hunt  I  have 
spoken  of  a  few  pages  back. 

Upon  regaining  the  d^ck  with  Mr.  Lovell's  prize,  we 
were  struck  with  the  indications  of  a  brooding  wind 
outside.  The  ice  was  closing  in  every  directjion ;  and 
our  master,  Mr.  Murdaugh,  had  no  alternative  but  to 
tie  up  and  aw^it  events.  The  Rescue  did  the  same, 
some  three  hundred  yards  to  the  southward. 

By  five  A.M.,  a  projecting  edge  df  the  outside  floe 

came  into  contact  with  our  own,  at  a  point  midway 

between  the  two  vessels.    This  assailing  floe  was  three 

feet  eight  inches  thick,  perhaps  a  mile  in  diameter, 

and  moving  at  a  rate  of  a  knot  an  hour.    Its  weight 

was  some  two  or  three  millions  of  tons.    So  irresistible 

was  its  momentum,  that,  as  it  impinged  against  the 

solid  margin  of  the  land  ice,  there  was  no  recoil,  no  m- 

terruption  to  its  progress.     The  elastic  material  cor- 

rugated  before  the  enormous  pressure  ;  then  cracked, 

then  crumbled,  and  at  last  rose,  the  lesser  over  the 

greater,  sliding  up  in  great  inclined  planes:  and  these, 

again,  breaking  by  their  weight  and  their  contmued 

impulse,  toppled  over  in  long  lines  of  fragmentary  ice. 

This    imposiiig    process    of   dynamics    is    called 

"HttmmoAkmgJ"-  Its  most  striking  featurewas/its 


jOSud  j£^WU  j-i^.^ 


1 


«» 


S'; 


A    PIKCH. 


123 


unswerving,  unchecked  oontinuousness.     The  mere 

S    ™  T  '""''"^  P-Portioned  either  to  thri" 

•  S^d      ^'r  "l  ^r''^""'"''™^  off-''  -hich  it 

tl«a^^  t  if  hv       °  J*"*"  """•'"  ""^  th™^'  into 
toeair,  as  if  by  invisible  machinety. 

I  irst,  an  inclined  face  would  rise,  say  ton  ieet  •  then 

r  ™f  h""'  a  grinding,  tooth-pulLg  cZ'ckZ 

Zn   he  aJh     t'  T"' '"""'»  "  «"«''  "-1  here 

Z    Ind  f,t  """'  """•'^'"S  '''«'  "  'he  sec. 

ond    and  just  as  yo^  are  oxpooting  to  see  the  whole 

fhe  rtrT' ""  ^'™'  "  ''™'«',  larger  than  any  „, 
the  rest,  and  converts  all  its  predecessors  into  a  cha- 
otic  mass  of  crushed  marhle.  Now  the  fragments  thus 
comminuted  are  about  the  size  of  an  old-faslned 
Conestoga  vvagon.  and  the  line  thus  eating  its  way's 
several  hundred  yards  long.  ^ 

The  action  soon  began  to  near  our  brig,  which  now 
fee  by  a  heavy  cable,  stood  bows  on^^waitingTe' 
onset.    It  was  an  uncomfortable  time  for  us  as  we 

Z^ZttlT*^  "  *"  """•"  ""  ^"-'  "  he! 
,ll.r  A  P"''"'«-    ^"t.  thanks  to  the  in- 

verted  wedge  action  of  her  bows,  she  shot  out  like  a 

pifiWhread,  and  backing  into  wider  quarters     The 
Be«=„e  was  borne  almost  to  her  beam  endsZt  event 

•rrsffi*"""^-  ^•'-"^"^o^hotC 
This  Closure  of  the  seaward  ice  upon  the  land  fln« 
w^  evidently  connected  with  a  chanrof  winds  0„ 
the  day  before,  the  10th,  the  ice  m  relaL  Jlund 
us  under  a  gentle  air  from  the  northward :  b«t  IJ^^ 
ually  increasing  breeze  from  the  P  S  P  ^ 


ftbout  ninQ  in  th^  JT  •       ^.  t^-^t..,  commencing 
ame^the  evenmg,T^T«ghtened  the  floeT 


^ 


/ 


124 


ICE    OPENS— CRUSTACEA. 


and  this  morning  bore  them  down  upon  us.  As  the 
wind  hauled  to  the  S.S.E.,  the  ice  opened  again ;  and 
on  the  early  mornihg  of  the  twelfth  we  warped  ahead 
into  a  safer  berth.  ~_- 

We  cast  off  again  about  7  A.M. ;  and  after  a  weari- 
some day  of  warping,  tracking,  towing,  and  sailing, 
advanced  some  six  or  eight  miles,  along  a  coast-line 
of  hills  to  the  northeast,  edged  with  glaciers. 

The  currents  were  such  as  to  entirely  destroy  our 
steerage  way.  Our  rudder  was  for  a  time  useless ; 
and  the  surface  water  was  covered  by  ripple  marks, 
which  flowed  in  strangely  looping  curves.  Op.  the 
13th  the  sea  abounded  with  life.  Cetochili,  as  well 
as  other  entomostracan  forms  which  I  had  not  seen  be- 
fore, lined,  and,  in  fact,  tinted  the  margins  of  the  floe 
ice ;  and  for  the  first  time  Itioticed  among  them  some 
of  those  higher  orders  of  crustacean  life,  which  had 
herel»fore  been  only  found  adhering  to  our  warping 
lines.  Among  these  were  asellus  and  idotea,  and  that 
jerking  little  amphipod,  the  gammarus.  Acalephae 
and  limacinse  abounded  in  the  quiet  leads.  The  birds, 
too,  were  back  with  us,  the  mollemoke,  the  Ivory  gull, 
the  BurgoniEtster,  and  the  tern ;  and  while  the  little 
Auks  crowded  the  floes  below,  feeding  eagerly  upon 
the  abundant  harvest  of  the  ice,  the  air  Above  us  was 
filled  with  swooping  crowds,  equally  intent  on  their 
marine  pasture  grounds.  I  can  not  mtbik  that  the 
powerful  mandible  of  the  Fulmar  petrels  ever  conde- 
scends to  the  8un«i<ce  forms  of  acalephse.  It  is  true 
that  they  follow  in  the  stormy  wake  of  vessels,  like 
the  Mother  Carey's  chickens^  but  their  food  is  of  a 
higher  grade.  It  was  a  curious  spectacle  to  see  them 
fighting  for  the  garbage  bf  our  vessel,  and  goimandiz- 
ing  on  the  blubber  of  our  game.  . 


aoiNG    AHEAD. 


125 


■  Th«y  were  ths  first  that  weTad  .!  '"^  *'"''^- 
PiBco.  We  haUed  them  L^„  elTrf'""*  '""""« 
As  the  day  grew  older  » trT  ^  "^  °^  "!«">  va- 
riously, ^f  jr:"^  eLr^eXir  "'-"^  ^'"■ 

course;  and  althoueh  wewU7  ^j?*"  "P""  »" 
some  i„tercepti„R  "ce  17^.  "^  *"  ■""  '""""gt 
parsed  the  trfals  of  tlT;  batl'T  ""''r*  """*  "«  '"-' 
mg  the  North  Water       ^'  "°  """""y  W'"'- 

Jn'roferiotfntls'l'^''  ™  '""^  *^-g. 

-  they  receded  rt„;d^«l"iT""^ 

We  had  (Wd  i  all  th.  „    T  '    .*''*  ^r™'  K'^cier. 

in  a  neaHHont  ntou*  cSf""'  ""^  ^"''^  T'"'""' 
to  lose  it.  The  XlTJ  ■  ""Z  **  ''"«  "'»"t 
ready.  ^'^  ''*^  '"""•''y  diminished  al- 


-,»■ 


.•»• 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

As  the  afternoon,  advanced,  we  had  another  visit  of 
the  phenomerffe  of  refraction  This  time  they  passed 
hefore  us  in  all  the  costumes  and  mutations  of  a  car- 
nival frolic.  I  am  afraid  to  paint  them  from  recollec- 
tion, and  would  make  an  apology,  if  I  could,  for  the 
seeming  extravagance  with  which  they  reflect  them- 
selves in  my  journal. 

"6  P.M  Refraction  again!  There  is  a  black  globe 
floating  in  the  air,  about  3°  north  of  the  sun.  What 
it  is  you  can  not  tell.  Is  it  a  bird  or  a  balloon  ?  Pres- 
ently comes  a  itort  of  shimmering  about  its  circumfer- 
ence, and  on  a  sudden  it  changes  its  shape.  ^  Now 
you  see  plainly  what  it  is.  It  is  a  grand  piancp,  and 
nothing  else.  Too  quick  this  time !  You  ha^  hardly 
named  it,  before  it  was  an  anvil— an  anvil  large  enough 
for  Mulciber  and  his  Cyclops  to  beat  out  the  loadstone 
of  the  poles.  You  have  not  got;  it  quite  adjusted  to 
your  satisfaction,  before  your  anvil  itself  is  changing; 
'  it  contracts  itself  centrewise,  and  rounds  itself  end- 
wise,  and,  prestw;  it  has  made  itself  duplicate—*  pair 
of  colossal  dumb-bells.  A  moment!  and  it  is  the 
t black  globe  a^m" 


HiEFRACTlON. 


127 


lhea,«,lves  above  Tandt'/"^' ^'^  ""«' 
-ater  blended  with  ;«!  o^hr^'  "''/  ""''  1^"'^ 
you  could  not  determTne  wte.Tih/"''^''  *»^'  *'"'* 
other  ended.    Your  ship  w^"  .h„         ^^l  "'  *° 
sphere ;  ice  shapes  of  indelriCl^  °°T™  ""^ '  '"^* 
Boating,  like  yoV  onrtM^rleThtr 
bird  as  apparent  ^.n  the  deeps  of  the'  sea  o^^^^n  1 
continuous  element  above     Nothf„7      ,/l       ""* 
ouriously  beautiful  than  „„r  Itirt  the  Re^  """^ 
she  la,  in  .id.spa»,  ,„p„^  J»-'J^^«-^^^^^ 

This  unequally  refractive  condition  continn  J 

on  te  i;™ '''»™"»  to  g"«  the  impression,  it  ,^1 
on  me  at  the  momnnf;  a.nA  i  au      r  tuaue 

from  ray ^ournT^m^t^  ''^'''  "^  again 

gle  line  *  ^'^'"^  ^'  modifying  ^  sin- 

"^i/i'wj/  13.  To-night,  at  ten  o'clock,  we  were  on 

^n  1  "f/.''"^'  ^"PP«««^  *o  ^«  Ca^  M   X 
^Iren,  attracted  by  the  irremilnr  r«j-  ^-       j;««ivnie, 

«un,  then  about  L  hou"lt  t  r^W^t  tSt  rf 
Im  curve,  I  saw  suddenly  flaiinis  „„  r!!.„ri  t 
the  sign,  of  active  combUon^  ^r^  Z^^f 
black  smoke  rose  ahnvA  +K«  v.    •  *"iumes  oi 

expanding  a«it::u':srr''''Bsr:r^H'^t 

eeye,by  its  <=on.pensation%„rdiZnr8^;«*;hT^°^ 
of  masses,  mingled  with  it  riain»  «n^  f  ir 

il^onddisap^aring,  ^iZV^^^^^T^ 
vHnar  waving  mnv«if>at**.vP^j--w^»^^^---.,.j —  .~ir^' 


"  '    f-'-  — — "'vy  lAiix  iiuiH  was  nie  De 
*f««vemen*  of  air,  Wefiea^y  an  adja^e^ 


\ .. 


i 


*  * 


^ 


,.    ,i;-i.- 


%'^ 


( 


128 


REFRACTION. 


heat.  The  whole  intervening  atmosphere  was  dis- 
turbed and  flickering. 

"Upon  looking  at  this  curious  spectacle  through  our 
best  Fraiinhofer  glass,  the  clearly  defined  edges  of  a 
number  of  krge  icebergs  could  be  seen,  borne  by  re. 
fraction  into  the  air,  duplicated  by  inversion,  and  pre- 
serving that  vertical  parallelism  of  sides  before  alluded 
to  as  pharacteristio  of  the  refracted  berg.  From  the 
lowTferface  of  their  inverted  images  were  exhaling — 
if  I  toiay  use  the  word — ^those  wonderful  clouds  of  ap- 
parent  smoke.  Here,  top,  at  an  altitude  which,  judg- 
ing by  the  bases  of  the  bergs,  corre^onded  to  the  re- 
fracted or  secondary  horizon,  a  lateral  distortion  sent 
out  huge  tongues,  like  projecting  rafters,  which,  when 
not  obscured  by  the  'smoke,'  contrasted  black  against 
the  sky.  All  this  was  so  combined  with  architectur- 
al forms,  that  it  was  hard  to  avoid  the  impression  of 
some  mighty  city  in  conflagration." 

During  all  these  phenomena,  the  position  of  the  sun 
with  reference  tdttj^  elevated  object  had  a  marked 
influence.  In^diately  below  his  disk,  the  excessive 
.  illuminatiorlpreAfented  my  taking  altitudes  by  the  sex- 
£  tant ;  but  j^n  either  side  of  it,  to  a  distance  of  twenty 
degrees,  \  could  note  that  the  falafe  horizon,  which  I 
had  selected  as  an  index  of  the  uplift,  rose  as  it  reced- 
ed from  the  sun.  A  similarly  progressive  elevation  of 
the  Infracted  bergs  was  observable  by  the  unassisted 
eyet    The  range  thus  noted  was  from  .06'  to  1°  40'. 

The  entire  sea  at  this  time  was  studded  with  frag- 
ments of  floating  ice.  Heretofore  the  more  sttiking 
manifestations  of  this  sort  of  refraction  had  occurred 
on  warm  sunny  days,  when  the  area  immediately  ad- 
jacent to  us  was  entirely  ice-bound ;  and  we  had  re- 
marked,  on  several  occasiohs,  that  the  presence  nfopan 


':>.■ 


/ 


THE"duiSINE. 


129 


temperature  of  the  water  tn  Ty    !  '"'  ^"'^ 

«a  board  ship.    tCJou  Jt  ttT^^  t^ '^^ 

Another  extract  from  my  journal  „f «,.       ! 
«.g  k-  less  of  imaginativeVnW        "  ™"'  "'°™- 

manyships'mu^kerto'l  ;;  t^rClXT'  T"  "^ 
entv  birds      T\^^.r  ^  '  ^  brought  back  sev- 

not  flo  ung  ^z  "z  z:  r^"*  *'""'  '""y  -<"«. 

notice  thei,  w^Sf  their  eZs?u,lTr'  '"'  T"    ' 

«uetie,,ut.ns,.::Kl?:?a"xxr 

co,ik*He'^""°^'""™"^y-    Yesterday  our  F.«nch 

of  a  truss^'partriL'''^B:S''rr''""°''^'*«™ 
and  withal  most  cTriciousJ..  ^^'  """^  ^'~»«' 
where  to  find  him     On?^     I   '• '"'"  """  "»'  *«" 

Je-Me;  -t^hirXXtirat  df^  ^ 
As  a  part  of  mv  Polar  nr^J;  "^lyuwc,  and  damnable. 

beit  /esteem  a'd^r  S  ^L^S^"  "  P<""^al. 

thing ;  and.  in  the  course  of  my  o„^^  "•'  "^"^ 
have  ah«ady  manajred  f^  °' "^  ^''''nary  experience,  I 

«aly;  and  with  a  little  patiencV^d  a  ^^l'"' ,''"' 

•au^piguanle.  is  very  ex<illentlt     Thf    .f      ."' 

.IS  the  hardest  to  manLe  •  thetfi^?  r  ^''^  """^-noke 

»«  «  rather  alarr„T'B„t  I  J         "°'^'^'"''°""- 
future  ma,(„,  dCT    ?         *"""  ""^  '"«*h""i.  for 

these  re~   ctlfft'hSttl'^^'^^li! 
-"l-^^h"  fellows,  who  ^  i!-^l'-^'"^  ♦hi-y 


^^  ^--M^W^g^hLTu.^ 


G 


130 


GLACIERS. 


rub  with  soda;  wash  out  the  soap  thus  freely  made; 
parboil  and  pickle.  The  bird  is,  after  all,  not  so  de- 
testable, early  in  the  season.  -  At  the  Hudson  Bay's 
settlements  they  preserve  him  in  salt.  Sea-gull  is 
worthy  of  all  honorable  mention.  The  Jilet  of  a  large 
Ivory  one  is  a  morceau  between  a  spring  chicken  and 
our  own  unsurpassed  canvas  back.  As  to  these  little 
Guillemots  or  Auks  ( Uria  alle,  or  alke),  quocunque  no- 
mine gaudent,  like  all  birds  feeding  on  crustaceal  life, 
they  are  very  red  in  meat,  juicy,  fat,  delicate,  and  fla- 
vorsome,  something  between  a  blue-wing  and  a  Dela- 
ware rail ;  in  a  word,  the  perfection  of  good  eating. 

"  We  ran  along  the  coast  to-day  with  gentle  airs, 
and  near  enough  to  keep  me  busy  with  my  pencil. 
Glacier  after  glacier  met  us,  and  the  background  of 
rounding  snow-covered  mountains  contrasted  finely 
with  the  square  blocking  of  the  rugged  precipices  at 
the  water-line.  These  glaciers,  however,  were  de- 
tached,  not  running  in  continuous  curves  ipdong  the 
coast,  but  abutting  from  opening  valleys.  The  struc- 
ture of  the  shore  was  evidently  metamorphio.  It  re- 
minded me  of  some  portions  of  our  Alleghany  ridge, 
and  I  even  thought  that  I  could  distinguish  in  the  ar- 
rangement of  these  valley  indentations  our  own  famil- 
iar form  of  anticlinal  rupture. 

"Although  icebergs  still  crowd  the  horizon,  and 
some  two  hundred  of  them  can  be  counted  within  the 
eye  circle,  we  are  evidently  fast  getting  rid  of  the  ice. 
It  is  true  that  the  shore  pack  still  stretches  out  close 
upon  our  left — a  barrier  apparently  as  permanent  as 
the  glaciered  hills  with  which  it  is  united ;  but  to  sea- 
ward, open  water-leads  gltidden  us  in  every  direction. 
We  forced  to-day  through  but  one  floe  tongue,  using 
the  hawser  and  windlass  aboirt^ftii  hour,  ^iththis^x^ 


t  j'i ...  _•<. 


tm 


'BVANTAOES    OP    STEAMEB.  Jgi 

favorable  oirclT„rorUtIIe""''r''![  '"^  ■"»' 
How  often,  when  retor^HT  l  «    *'*  "  dependent. 

The  arg„„e„t.  inZ^^^IZJZT  "''*"""'" 
mote  the  transit  of  this  w7o:s  br^'e:^!?  *"  P™" 
ample  and  conolusiye.  The  lin^r  J:T  '"^  ^T 
tortuosities,  is  but  three  h„„d"eTm  '.'"•""'''"«■ 

ran.    It  had  cost  u,  »Ir.„j  ,  ?  ^''  "'  *»'»  days' 

off  the  Thumrfive  ^S"'"""""""^  °"  ^-^t'oent 

have  arrested  a  steamer  t1  '''"T  ""^  '''^*'  ™"W 
July  and  August  a^H!';    I    P'-edominant  winds  of 

er^.  "closin/w^^r-^aJ     '"^'"''''''•'"''"''^^hal. 

easlers  (true),  whth  a™  I  "'"*'"  "''*"'''  *"''  «"■*!'- 
short  oontinuaiTc*  ^,T  TP™*'™'y  '""  and  of 
'7.  and  impra^-o l.:t  Xf^^lf  "'"  "^ 

int  cZntrrsortitir  -f  -  ---«<»% 

nacions,  and  openrg"2ltX  f'Z''^^  'ess  te. 
powerless  in  a  calm  Sn„hf  *?*'''  *""  ^""^  a™ 
ways  relaxed  the  ice  a^d^tlr  ^'"V^"  ""«"  »'- 
here,  too,  we  were  ham^re^''^!  7''"  ^'T""''  ^'^ 
dead  ahead;  and  whikTri.  I  a  "'"'*''  *'"d  was 
do  hut  tie  up  andawjt  rohtr^'  ""  ""^  "*"^  *° 

and  r?a™rL\*'rd  Zi^t "  "'■ "!,  "'^"'"^  -"« 
check  the  „av^to°s^vallw''"^'  """^  "'to^y 
'he  southward  and  e^tw^dH  ,,*'"' "''*"*"'■»"' 

-^nc.  or  a  zigzag  lead  would  delTyts'.rjS^Sr! 


-'■^ 


^>    • 


132 


ESQUIMAUX. 


f 


ing  opportunity  had  gone  by.     In  all  of  these  casesn 
steamer  would  have  been  of  incalculable^d  vantage. 

**  August  15.  The  Rescue,  which  has  proved  herself 
a  dull  sailer,  had  lagged  astern  of  iis,  when  our  master, 
Mr.  Murdaugh,  observed  the  signal  of  *  men  ashore' 
flying  from  her  peak.  We  were  now  as  far  north  as 
latitude  75°  58',  and  the, idea  of. human  life  somehow 
or  other  involuntarily  connected  itself  with  disaster. 
A  boat  was  hastily  stocked  with  provisions  and  dis- 
patched for  the  shore.  Two  men  were  there  upon 
the  land  ice,  gesticulating  in  grotesque  and  not  very 
decent  pantomime — genuine,  unmitigated  Esquimaux. 
Verging  on  76°  is  a  far  northern  limit  for  human  life ; 
yet  these  poor  animals  were  as  fat  as  the  bears  which 
we  killed  a  few  days  dgo.  ^  Their  hair,  mane-like. 
flowed  over  their  oily  cheel^s,  and  their  countenances 
had  ^e  true  prognathous  character  seen  so  rarely 
^mong  the  adulterated  breeds  of  the  Danish  settle- 
ments. They  were  jolly,  laughing  fellows,  full  of  so- 
■  cial  feeling.  Their  dress  consisted  of  a  bear-skin  pair 
of  breeches,  considerably  the  worse  for  wear;  a  seal- 
skin  jacket,  hooded,  but  not  pointed  at  its  skirt ;  and 
a  pair  of  coarsely-stitched  seal-hide  boots.  They  were 
armed  with  a  lance,  harpoon,  and  air-bladder,  for  spear- 
ing seals  upon  the  land  floe.  The  kaiack,  with  its 
host  of  resources,  they  seemed  unacquainted  with. 

"When  questioned  by  Mr.  Murdaugh,  to  whom  I 
owe  these  details,  they  indicated  five  huts,  or  fam- 
ilies, or  individuals,  toward  a  sort  of  valley  between 
two  hills.  They  were  ignorant  of  the  use  of  bread, 
and  r^ected  salt  beef;  but  they  appeared  familiar 
with  ships,  and  would  have  gladly  invited  themselves 
to  visit  us,  if  the  officer  had  not  inhospitably  declined 
4he^  honofv'- -____-__^ — :„, — _ 


t% 


FEOZBN    PAMIHEs.       ■  -  jgj 

thl'ern""*?'^  '■"'"!  ^"P"  ^o'i  that  *.e  met 

tttr;';tJK:T^«ir'n^™^^^^ 

that  were  met  bv  Sir  John  B„  "*'""'«  «»«*  nomads, 

and  whom  he  des^n^Tted  Cc;?„,Iv™'"^t"'^*'''' 
"ArotioHighlandera  "  *™<"'^"y  enough,  as  the 

landed  atneariy  tt'ZVt^Z^Z  »'««<?' 
of  huts,     they  were  sfm^t  i^"'  f-^^  made  fot  a  group 

to  find  no  UnZ^tC:^^tZ'^^'^  **""" 
any  of  the  more  unsavory  ^to^  *J Lfp  ""™'  ■"»■ 
homestead.  The  riddie\Z  ^.71  "l^'^"^'"'^ 
the  s,a„  curtain,  thattr^^^t:^- ^^'"W  «? 
and  window.  Grouped  around  21tT  "'*''''' 
attitudes  oflife  wm^  fnJTf  ?  *^  '*"?•  *"  the 
darkened  iip  LirUet- rhfn^   uTIeTT'  ""''  ' 

SranXTay'i^^atwtK^^^^^ 
and  light,  and  fire  of  the  EsTul":^  "p  \»''""'"fi'<^> 
--ive  »Id  had  sUut  o<r TTs  "pi  JtT.*''?-  V 
closing  the  ioe-hbles-perhaps  a«  pS     '."*.'"*  'j" 
en  them.    Some  threeCfoThmr'  ^"^  '*"*" 
the  same  melancholy  mJ^^Z:;^^  "^ 


MitVlUAVX  Olf  BBOW^HO*,. 


.«■  « 


-7 


■/ 


CHAPTER  XVIII.    ; 

We  sailed  ^long  the  coast  quietly,  but  with  the  com- 
fortable excitement  of  expectation.  We  had  not  yet 
seen  such  open  water,  and  were  momentarily  expect- 
ing  the  change,  of  course,  which  was  to  lead  us  through 
the  North  Water  to  Lancaster  Sound.  The  glaciers 
were  no  longer  near  the  water-line ;  but  an  escarped 
shore,  of  the  usual  primary  structure,  gave  us  a  pleas- 
ing substitute. 

In  a  short  time  we  reached  the  "  Crimson  Cliffs  of 
Beverley,"  the  seat  of  the  often-described  "red  snow." 
The  coast  was  high  and  rugged,  the  sea-line  broken 
by  precipitous  sections  and  choked  by  detritus.  Sail- 
ing slowly  along,  at  a  distance  of  about  ten  miles,  we 
could  distinctly  see  outcropping  faces  of  red  feldspathic 
rock,  while  in  depending  positions,  between  the  cones 
^^of  detntus,  the  iscanty  patches  ©i  snow  were  tinged 


Bessie's  covk. 


135 


with  a  brick-dust  or  brown  «t»i„      j 

could  not  see  the  "cZln^t<,-    r  f '  '„"'''*''  "'^ 

^    gave  to  this  spot  its  s^^what  Ifl     •'""  '''^'  ^'"' 

the  locality  wi  noi  wT!I     j    '^'"'"'™'  *"'«:  '"'* 

■  excuse  this>^artr;^lf'''^""*'™^"''ich  should 

his  veracity'of  „^X;rtfS''r:?"r  ^""'' 

the  snofl  SrJZl?  T"""'  '"4'»«  -W. 
the  tint  which  he  ha.  ;r;b:^  *"  '""  ^'  "' O'^*"-" 

latitude  76-  04'  N    nearlv     n  }^^^  ^^  «" 

deied  on  one  side  ^1  S'«,ief.  rth  'T  *™'  ■»'■ 

•by  dWlaiions:fromif^?'°l^'';°J-f '•'»-<' 


,-^-.fo.a.»j;ssay;s*^ 


/ 


''^' :'■'',■■../  y  "^^'M 


136 


GLACIER    FORMATION. 


hill,  came  dashing  wildly  over  the  rocks,  green  with 
the  mosses  and  carices  of  Arctic  vegetation  j  while 
from  the  dome-like  summit  a  stream,  that  had  tun- 
neled its  way  through  the  ice  from  the  valley  still 
higher  ahove,  burst  out  like  a  fountain,  and  fdfU  in  a 
cascade  of  foam- whitened  water  into  the  sea. 
.  The  glacier  itself  was  of  the  class  which  Saussure 
has  designated  as  i^  second  order.  It  was  a  small 
but  elegant  typejof  glacial  structure,  and  was  to  me 
conclusive  as  to  the  identity  in  all  essential  features 
of  the  Polar  and  Alpine  ice-growths.  Its  material  was 
hard  but  vesicular  ice,  and  seemed  mark«d  by  strati- 
fied  bands  rudely  parallel  with  its  rocky  base.  These 
bands  commenced  with  bluish-green  compact  ice,  near- 
ly  transparent,  and  then  gradually  shaded  oflF  as  they 
rose  into  a  more  vesicular  structure,  which  ended  in 
an  alnibst  granular  whiteness. 

These  markings,  which  I  had  an  opportunity  after- 
ward  of  studying  in, the  bergs,  were  seemingly  inde-  , 
pendent  of  veined  or  ribboned  structure.    I  look  upon 
them  as  indices  q(  the  annual  growth ;  made  up  by 
the  snows  and  Q-tmospheric  deposits  of  the  non-thaw- 

.   '      ing  season,  gra4ually  melted,  compressed,  and  refrozen 
during  the  p>Itemating  temperatures  of  the  summer 
/     months.     This  view  will  explain  the  compact,  trans- 
parent character  of  the  lower  portions  of  the  band,  and 

'         al§!9l.its  gradual  transition  into  a  nearly  granular  ma- 
terial ;  for  the  surface  thaws  and  rains  which  follow  , 
the  long  winter  growth,  percolating  to  the  bottom, 
would  impress  the  mass  throughout  its  extent  with 
these  different  changes.  ; 

The  direction  of  these  lines  was  thus  nearly  in  the 
*       long  axis  of  the  glacier.     As  they  descended  to  the 
surface  of  its  trough,  a  gradually  deepening  earth-stain 


GLACIERS. 


137 


made  the  stratification  for  a  f.m^ 
near  its  base  its  sub  tance^^rsoT '''"^"* '  ^^* 
detritus  and  pa^ty  silt  tW  .^*L'°^'^««9'«'-ated  with 
it  from  soil.         ^'*^**^*^^^d  to  distinguish 

-St  upon  the  waten^the'Ch: '""!??  *^*^^ 
was  flanked  by  the  wajis  of  Ihe  v^H        T*^^^^  ^^^« 
southern  sweep  wa^  comnwl.      ,    ^^'  ^"*  ^**  ^^^^^e 
ed.    On  this  I  l^e  tZl  ^^  ^^^  ^^^  ""^bstruct- 
just  detailed.  ^'  observations  which  I  have 

th'^:^^s}^:^r^*^-^^adnot 

Professor  Fp/ws  ;„  ZTl    .    ""-O^ws  detaUed  bj 

haveill„,X?rhe  ?;2^'ir'r'' "■'ght.perhaps.' 
".ought  it  best  to  adhere  to7v  or-"'^'    ^"'  ^  ^'^ 

then,  with  views  not  direct^  i^prr^.^'LT'^'^ 
sion.  J^  "^parted  by  the  occa- 

inches  in^dth  xKlf 7,f'^*r"  *»  nineteen' 
entered  the  sea  was  ete„:?j^'"'|''^«  -We  it 
from  its  face,  measured  rad!?vK  f"'*^f^^^k 
^ponding  Une  of  r„„^  ZH  ll  "^"^'"^  »  «'™- ' 

»d  it  there  »pre^?tae1f  o„t  J  t*  to"  '"*  "™"*y ' 
«rea,  and  its  sides  were  lesT!™  .  °°™''  *  ff^^atef 
into  the  sea  beyond  thewirr^"''  J''  P""™'*""  ' 
i-7  over  aVtt^m  r^'n^^l^?  ''^''*  ''«'*. 
f 'Ob  presented  facette,  of  aSn'^''S:!' i;™?  "f 
^hrT«,ttorthu,  immersed^^*^?-:..^  ^-T**  W 


*v 


*^^.bnsi„.nre^'^~so„^i'-^T 

10 


J     ''•■ 


138 


RED    SNOW. 


/ 


boat-hook ;  aiid  through  the  clear  liquid  I  could  see 
that  a  sort  of  beveling  prevented  the  ice-mass  from 
actu<il  cohtaot  vvrith  the  bottom. 

Our  very  limited  time  prevented  me  fro^n  tracing 
this  glacier  up  to  its  trough,  my  entire  attention  being 
occupied  with  its  presenting  face.  Captain  De  Haven, 
who  walked  for  a  mile  and  a  half  up  the  valley,  de- 
scribed it  to  me  as  rapidly  diminishing  in  size',  and  de- 
riving  contributions  from  the  ice-streams  of  several 
minor  valleys. 

I  made  a  careful  sketch  of  the  configuration  of  this 
cove.  Sandstones  and  coarse  conglomerates,  rounded 
porphyritic  quartzfes  and  altered  slates,  with  green- 
stone and  amygdaloids,  chlorit«s  and  actinolites,  &c., 
were  found  freely  among  the  loose  material  spread  out 
over  the  shore.  The  detritus  from  the  cliffs  was  ex- 
^cessive,  and  the  effect  of  frost  as  a  degrading  agent 
strikingly  manifest. 

But  the  object  which  seemed  to  usurp  the  undi- 
vided attention  of  our  party  was  the  red  snow.  It 
abounded  in  the  depressions  between  the  slopes  of  de- 

-  posited  detritus,  and  wherever  a  protected  or  depend- 
ant hollow  gave  protection  from  excessive  wind  or 
thaw.  It  was  never  seen  unless  in  association  with 
foreign  matter,  such  as  the  fronds  of  lichens  or  fila- 
ments of  moss.  Its  surface  was  always  contaminated 
by  these  accumulations,  and  I  observed  that  the  color 
of  the  Prptococcus  was  most  decided  when  they  were 
in  greatest  abundance.  This  I  mention,  not  for  its 
bearing  upon  the  question  whether  unmixed  snow  can 
act  as  a  vegetative  matrix,  but  as  indicating,  for  the 
locality  in  question,  an  adventitious  source  for  the  sup- 
ply of  ammonia.    I  may  say,  while  upon  the  subject 

=^this  interesting prodAietioBr that I^ubiseqttentlycoL 


':     i^ib- 


ATMOSPHERIC  TR*««1 

^  TRANgPERS.         239 

lected  it  at  Barlow's  Tni^*       .  « 

aide,  of  Wel.i„gt:rs.,^t I'S'  "'T'J-"^.  »„  both 

Stance,  throughout  this  extenTi         *'  •""mnoin. 

unaullied  and  isolated  ^^^^'fT"  ^  »PI«ently 
i-gh  mountain  looaJitiorrH  t''.»  ^*«»n  to  its 
B»r,and  othe«, Pa,i  fo ^"^ .,^«^n*>«d  by  Saussure, 
ice-fieldsj  and  I  mysT".  ^^  "JP""  *«  Spitzbergen 

i*  on  the  floe  ioeTB^",*t57/'' ""'  "»<"  ''"h 
land.  ''**'' »  Bay  «fty  ifliles  from  any 

ButlwouldsuBireatrt.f  .       •        ' 
situations,  we  can  f^t  BlsriT" '"  *^^  'V-«rtoved 
of  the  "tmosphere  frl'tgl^^J^r  the  exemption 
not  mean  merely  cfliuv^'refe  tthi  ^'  '""  '  "<" 
fa,  &o.,  as  detected  by  FresInL      :.  T™  *''<'^' 
"iirect  transportation  of  viS         '"''  »*»"'  >»>*  » 
Tie  highly^oli  J  aL  dt  ^  T"^""  "'»*«ri'"- 
"inter-ice  admits  of  sueh  tfZ  ^'^  °'^  «•«  A««« 
indefinite  extent.    I  have  eS"?*'""  *"  '»  «'"«'«« 
Piiloaophical  Society  al^:^t'''  '"*'"'  ^'»«"»« 
large  to  be  tecogni  Jd  mT„,5.  w^"*™"  sufficiently 
*ch  I  cllecSTtteT,!  o^l"'  """"^^te^  eye!    , 
mouth  of  Februarv  is,/         ^  *^*P«  ^-iai'  in  the 
the  ahore.  ^'  ^^''  ^""^  ^"'onty  odd  miles  from 

on  the  coast  of  AfricX  t^^Stf^^'  "°>  ''•'^* 
mterest  to  this  diffusiorof  or„  ^  "**  '"P*""  » 
Arctic  snows.  '"«^"'  'Pf™les  over  the 

To  return  tn  tb.  ..  fj^m^,.  n,-„,  „  \.,    . 


-_A«il-.i^'iA,^.-'f' 


140 


RED    SNOW. 


to  the  southwest,  which  stretched  obliquely  across  the 
glacier  at  the  seat  of  its  emergence  ftom  the  valley. 
It  was  here  in  great  abundance,  staining  the  surface 
in  patches  six  or  eight  yards  in  diameter.  Similar 
patches  were  to  be  seen  at  short  intervals  extending 
up' the  valley. 

Its  color  was  a  deep  but  not  bright  red.  It  resem. 
bled,  with  its  acQompanying  impurities,  crushed  pre- 
served cranberries^  with  the  seed  and  capsule  strewn 
over  the  snow.  It  imparted  to  paper  drawn  over  it  a 
nearly  cherry-red,  or  perhaps  crimson  stain,  which  be- 
came brown  with  exposure ;  and  a  handful  thawed 
in  a  glass  tumbler  resembled  muddy  claret. 

Its  coloring  matter  was  evidently  soluble ;  for,  on 
scraping  away  the  surface,  we  found  that  it  had  dyed 
the  snow  beneath  with  a  pure  and  beautiful  rose  color, 
which  penetrated,  with  a  gradually  softening  tint, 
some  eight  inches  below  the  surfsice.  1 


->''  .' ' 


J         ^  (,1^  J     ^    t      >  jA&L^ 


At  4  P.M.  we  left  t^ 
some  pleasant  associai 
name  of  "Bessie's  Co 
tne  northward.     The  am 

traca  and  ciios,  on  which 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


'Sting  spot,  for  which 
«gestedto  me  the 
*fnmenced  beating  to 
»wded  with  entomos. 
's  of^Auks  were  feed- 


^g.  The  prospects  of  OM^^  "Wuks  were  feed- 
One  mile  from  fte  sho^  J  5  *"■"  "»«'''''««"'?■ 
bottom,  at  twenty-thm! 7:^  ^'"  "°.*""''?'  *»  ""ky 
"fi"  «P"  with  JterSfoe tterr'  *'""'•  ^'""g  »» 
tt'  west,  we  sb«d  closet  ,S?  ""  P^''*^  *° 

About  eleven  o'clock  C  w!™^  !  '  '^™™'''e  spot, 
midway  between  Cap^  Yor^r/n  If,**"  ""^  »  '''^H 
foeground  was  of  rugged  sylni^.      ^  '"''  "'^^-    I*» 
we  could  distinctly  see  thf     t°  "*''''  »»<•  »ver  these 
«»ming  torrent    He«  tt     ""*'.  ™^'''"?  <'''™  in  a 

By  ".eans  of  our  old  fti!!^  *  ™«»i»g-Place. 
«»  "lose  that  the  sides  rf„"     **"  "*'P*  T  '"«>'ed  in 
A  few  inches  oniv  i^f  "***''  ^""^^  UlEllcli 

"Wharf  The  sun  waTsnT^T""*"*'"* from 
-  ^  bathe  every  thin"  ™1":'  'his  midnight  hou" 
poll,  delioiously  unlike  th^A?."""*''"*  "f  i^'m 
w«^  in  black  JshXwbutth'"^^™-  '^''^^'' 
ke  walls  of  the  cove  I^^'^"  *f  *'"'"'  «'™«<1 
A«k»  crowded  these  r^fei?^'".'^^"™n»l'ine.    The 

»J--'»nU  started  ::':Sa:r  ^■"i*^" 


'Ait*       *    II.  «.K 


^.tf5 


142 


FLORULA. 


O 


on  either  side  of  the  so-called  Peninsula  of  Greenland. 
The  culminating  peak  of  the  northern  abutment  of  this 
indentation  gave  me,  trigonometrical! y,  1383  feet;  and 
others,  more  distant,  were  at  least  ong,  third  higher. 

-The  cove  itsel?  measured  but  six  hundred  yards  from 
M\xS  to  bluff.  It  was  recessed  in  a  regular  ellipse,  or 
rather  horseshoe,  around  which  the  strongly-featured 
gneisses,  relieved,  as  usual,  with  the  outcroppings  of 
feldspar,  formed  lofty  mural  precipices.  I  estimated 
their  mean  elevation  at  twelve  hundred  feet.  At  their 
bases  a  mass  of  schistose  rubbish  had  accumulated. 

I  have  described  this  recess  aS  a  perfect  horseshoe : 

it  was  not  exactly  sifch,  for  at  its  northeast  end  a  rug- 

^ed  little  water-feeder,  formed  by  the  melting  snows, 

^ient  down  a  stream  of  foam  which  buried  itself  under 

the  frozen  surface  of  a  lake.    Yet  to  the  eye  it  was  a 

f:  nearly  absolute  theatre,  this  little  cove,  and  its  arena 

a  moss-covered  succession  of  terraces,  each  of  indescrib- 

':  able  richness.  y 

Strange  as  it  seemed,  oil  the  immediate  level  of  snow 
and  ice,  the  constant  infiltrations,  aided  by  solar  rever- 
beration, had  made  an  Arctic  garden-spot.     The  sur- 
face of  the  jnoss,  owing,  probably,  to  fhe  extreme  altern- 
ations of  heat  and  qpld,  >yas  divide^  inU)  regular  hex- 
agons and  otffer  polyhedral?  figureB^i^nd  scattered  over 
.    these,  nestiing  between  the  tufts,  apd  forming  little 
groups  on  their  southern  faces,  was  k  quiet,  unobtru- 
sive community  of  Alpine  flowpring  plants.  The  %eak- 
^  ness  of  individual  growth  allowed  no  dijibitious  species 
to  overpower  its  neighbor,  so  that  many  families  were 
crowded  together  in  a  rich  flower-bed.    In  a  little  space 
^'  that  I  could  cover  with  my  pea-jacket,  the  veined  leaves 
of  t^  Pyrola  were  peeping  out  among  chickweeds  and 
=-=-8axfl^age8,  the  sonel  and  RonuncAiiis. 


m 


florula. 


143 


poor  gentian,  stunted  and  reduced  hnt  cf  n  i-, 

shoe,  and  frin^ 'it '1^       ^ T*"  "^""^  horse- 

Shrubs  and  trees  "the  11  '^,"'"  "'"'  *"^'- 
only  typed  those  LZZt^^ Zf\T''' 
things  had  lost  their  UDriahtn«r     ^  ,  ^^®  P"^'' 

the  elements  ,y  traX^l^nTihrr^r tr*"^ 

.     impfessive  eZlCTllZTZ  ""ft-  ""'  ""  ""^ 
and  in  fruit— I  could  covpr  if ,  ."s*'*''*"W  m  flower 

«ia  honeysueWe  (iX;  JXT^ftrii  *"« 
sylvania  woods— I  could  sti^^lt  i^^^     .  "  ^""n- 

button-hole;  the  ^  Jit^'^X:  ?£"!"  "^   ^ 
marabou  feather.       '  ^'''f^gona,  like  a  green 

a  trefoil  olo™  ;  If^f  jt^^";  "-^'y  larger  than 

;.thea,j„st  buu:x*i",efr^^:^/,^°""i 

by  olawJite  rIdeCk^\"'t;^''"''  h"e  and  there 
inhospitable  soil  had  ISV^  ,  *"  Penetrate  the 
Burfa^-trirfolfht^^  '""".T'™'  ■""  "P""  th" 
moss  whieh  ^^rd  It^eatrrno:,^  '"''  ^"^'^'^"^ 


-^evation.  „fT  7»^"""™?8. wWletaking sextaatet 
^^^ahons  of  the  headlands,  to  mea^ureTh!  ^0^0! 


/ 


i44 


MOSS-BEDS. 


of  this  cove,  both  by  sections  where  streams  from  the 
lake  had  left  denuded  faces,  and  by  piercing  through 
.  them  with  a  pointed  staff.  These  mosses  formed  an 
investing  mould,  built  up  layer  upon  layer,  until  it  had 
attained  a  mean  diepth  of  five  feet.  At  one  place,  near 
the  sea  line,  it  was  seven  feet ;  and  even  here  the  slow 
processes  of  Arctic  decomposition  had  not  entirely  de- 
stroyed  the  delicate  radicles  and  stems.  The  fronds 
of  the  pioneering  lichens  were  still  recognizable,  en- 
tangled among  the  rest. 

Yet  these  little  layers  represented,  in  their  diminu- 
tive  stratification,  the  deposits  of  vegetable  periods.  I 
counted  sixty-eight  in  the  greatest  section.*  Those 
chemical  processes  by  which  nature  converts  our  au- 
tumnal leaves  into  pabulum  for  future  growths  work 
slowly  here. 

My  companions  were  already  firing  away  at  the 
Auks,  which  covered  in  great  numbers  the  debris  of 
fallen  rock.  This  was  deposited  at  an  excessive  in- 
clination, sometimes  as  great  as  47° ;  its  talus,  some 
three  hundred  feet  in  height,  cutting  in  cone-like  proc- 
esses against  the  mural  faces  of  the  cliff. 

There  was  something  about  this  great  inclined  plane, 
with  its  enormous  fragments,  their  wild  distribution, 
and  steep  angle  of  deposit,  almost  fearfully  character- 
istic of  the  destructive  agencies  of  Arctic  congelation. 
I  had  never  seen,  not  even  at  the  bases  of  the  mural 
traps  of  India  and  South  America — or  better,  perhaps, 
than  either,  our  own  Connecticut — such  evidences  of 
active  degradatibn.     It  is  not  to  the  geologist  alone 

^     •  r  copy  the  number  of  these  layers  as  I  find  it  marked  in  my  journal ;  yet 

. '  I  do  80,  not  without  some  fear  that  I  may  be  misled  by  the  chirography  of  a 

very  hurried  note."  My  recollections  are  of  a  very  large  number,  yet  not  so 

arge  as  that  which  my  respect  for  the  littera  tcripta  induces  me  to  retain  io 

the  text. 


I 


I  from  the 
?  through 
brmed  an 
atil  it  had 
ilace,  near 
(the  slow 
thely  de- 
he  fronds 
zable,  en- 

r  diminu- 
eriods.  I 
*  Those 
s  our  au- 
^ths  work 

ly  at  the 
debris  of 
essive  in-     >• 
lus,  some 
like  proc- 

led  plane, 
tribution, 
haracter- 
igelation. 
tie  mural 
perhaps, 
lences  of 
ist  alone 

journal ;  yet 

ograpliy  of  a 

•,  yet  not  so 

to  retain  in 


■« 


t  * 


w'*:!X'd^j:*:  r^ssf,  -a*U™aj_, 


/ 


>•*>.     ». 


I'   '   •''* 


AnKs'    NESTS. 


I^S' 


;     ,  Jte  existence  of  the  earth  t   *      '"°"  ^o'-g  o»  since 

■  ,    fr-'io"  of  time  against  it  "rte'^T"*^'"'^  t-nhe 

^     on  with  solemn  force  to  thl         j  '  *"•*  ^ey  carry  ns 

edge.  ,nd  mOnnC  ^av^nTomr'""'  *'"'  '"''^'"'^ 

hare  been  worn  down  intl  rl^  5^  •"""«  .'"^h  *»" 

'oy-    Well  may  th~Xd""     ''^''""'S"»'««^'"- 
ters."*    Theypoint  wfth  i™     "zoological  chronomS- 

•    tation  of  year^.  ^  TbeiMnZ'""T  '^"S"'  *°  tko  'o- 
tion !  °"  "'"ost  deciphers  the  nota- 

-  A^^ht^tSrt:,:'*''^'""''^"™- *-«««'«  • 

though  far  advanced?h*„oIrT"f '"""'"'«'»>. 
fledglings  were  lookiL  do  ""'f""  ''J'' «"  ^e  young 
and  the  mother,  with' erZ  fti^r '"  """'^''»' 
constantly  arriving  from  theJ.  tt  P'?™"***'.  were 
study  the  domestic  hawL  „f^t  "^f  ,''  ^^  "  *'«h  ^ 
grants  at  their  homesttadll  rf.  *"*'"  ^""'''  emi- 
o»e  of  flieir  most^ubr  cot  ^'"^  "''"»'""'«•  "P  ^ 
<if  my  descent.       ^^        ™'""'«''  -""tout  thinking 

-h^ ter^;:-  ^'^y  ™^  great,  ,j^ 

find  the  fragmen^recXgSe,  ri-""'^"''™^'' *9 
with  a  resounding  crash^  te'tT"  ""'"g'       ' 
png,  however,  to  regain  mj  breVlT  ^  T'    ^'"P" 
.  '«»eath,  around  me? ever/thin  ""''^"ftfe've; 

entire  surface  seem  d  ^  ^tllr^  '"  '»°«<»>»h«       * 
»s  ■'  n.ay  seem  to  dweJl  nnot^l"^  ^T"'    SWioulons 
tr-viai,  my  position  bl™!"!.  VJ*""'  W"ently  so         • 
erated  velodty  of  thH.!         "^^^Ser.    The  accel- 
y  0  .the  masses  caused  them  to  Ie»n  ,,ff 


'*«W''wiSSiS,"irSj.^ 


P*  ' 


V  I 


'^4G 


(•W''    TRAPPING     THE     AUK 


r 


5?Jy 


111  clepectefvlines.     Several  uncomfo 
luid^readj^^passed  by  ir^,  soi|||g  eve 
a*|d  my  Vv^aIf(ng-polGfiAva)^jerlqp  frdrS^|ay.'1iSft" 
buried  in  th(|;jj|iins.    '»f  &jj^  helpt^s.  I  <^8&ftjienced  my 
own  half-invoI|i|itary  (l^^fit,  expfecting^  momenWily 
to  follow  ]|]g,/^p6ie,  wheii'n^j  fma  caujghlJ^proi 
^it^frop^ of  feldlp^,  againef x^^^h'^^roiig; 
spffit^^mb  t^o  minor  streams,  ^^l^j-^t^'wi 

nips^  succeescle4  iii  reaehijn^  '^  V  ,-''^.. . ''  ^j?'  '-^^ 

jsat  |H)oa?  the  temporary  secul-ity  61  this  little 

i1|^|^ed  by  falling  fragjnents,  and  awaiting 

'0W  adjustment  to  a  ilew  «^iilUbrium  before  I 

ule^^  descend,  I  was  struck  writh  the  Arctic  orig- 

ality"  of  6very  thing  around.  It'^IHs  rhidnight,  and 
'^b  sun,  now  to  the  north,  was  hi«||en  by  the  rocks ; 
J^ut  the  whole  atmosphere  was  pink  iJfith  light.  Over 
head  and  i^round  me  w^hirled  innuiri^able  crowds  of 
Auks  and  Ivory  gulls,  screeching  with*«xecrable  clam- 
or, almost  in  contact  with  my  person.',  On  the ^(i"ozen 
lake  below',  contrasting  with  its  snowy  coiyering,  were 
a  couple  of  ravens,  fighting  zealously  forV^orsel  of 
garbage ;  and  high  up,  on  the  crags  above  me,  sat 
some  unmoved,  phlegmatic  burgomasters. 

I  missed  my  opportunity  of  inspecting  the  nests  of 
the  Auks.  They  issued  from  the  crevices  between 
the  detached  fragments,  and,  it  is  probable,  deposit- 
ed  their  eggs,  like  other  Uria,  upon  the  naked  rock. 
Some  of  the  men  succeeded  in  reaching  their  squabs 
by  introducing  their  arips.  It  is  said  that  the  Esqui- 
maux trap  them  by  spreading  out  thetf  clothing  oppo- 
site these  apertures,  so  that  the/^irdioiffaen  disturbed, 
pass  into  and  fill  the  sjeeves 

le  at  this  cove,  I  saw  SjU^^J^BSftis  a  black  ani 
mtlBAich,  but  for  its  ctppar^HHHper  size,  I  v^ould 


/" 


/ 


k,. 


V 


-  '^    ■    .    ■ 

*    BLACK    FOX.  ,., 

147 

»'-»*ieh  were  uridoubtedTvont  ^'*^'^^.^& 

,^  Thej.wer»  probably  Z  "bt^?''.'P?^• 
,      '  Ross,  about  which  there  hi  h         ^'"'"  °^  ^"  J»'"> 
Throwing  a«de  less  oblur„^:  "7''. ''r-oh. 
fox  was  dark  sooty  brown  or  bl»  l!  ""^ff  ""«*'»■•.  this 
■    am  disposed  to  think  oTtbf    S' ""'  '''''«' "".  <«  I 

..^^e  white  fox  (il't;;^\'rr'"r™'-'»'- 

-n  of  head  and'di^inishf  Tst  mShTbt' T?"^" 
by  the  absence  of  its  winter  ooverC       ""^ '^P'-^ned    , 

TherestofthedaywasbeantiSlTelear     W 
it  in  working  to  windward,  and  a  Ipm  r"' 

ed  to  get  observations,    riis  snoT  tb         T'"  '""''■ 
hat  we  reached  in  Baffin's  Bay  wit  I  "^/<""'«ra 

I  here  sawand  collected  in  fhYp^tectit    ,     ''"  '"'• 
the  grasses  and  saacifraw,  »  ,    P'°°'*<' "ooifs,  among 

1-ia  (c  i>»4aTR;rnii:,rtt'''^^°'''' 

Plectrophanes  were  seen  *!«,  Emberiza  and 

.hl^rail'littfc'tb*^^'' '''^ '■''^-^ 
towards  Wolstenhotae  SoS  Id  b"*'-  ^''  '*^ 
west  in  mote  ODen  water  Z'     t  ^"*  *«™^  ^  the  - 

-eb.  It  w4^o:t;  td  ,::bti7'"'""''™"^ 

winter  somewhere  amoLtt  "**  *»  ''e™  to 

We  were  past  the  b^I^'heLrT  "'  ''"'*^'>  '™1- 
ter  Sound,  with  the  moS  ofl  ^  ''"'"'*  ''»'  ^'"«"«- 
"a,  and  a  breeze  a^r  ?!  reTrT  ""™  """«  ""''er 
how  the  toneiof  feallifc  *"  my  journal,  I  see 

™'  '^'""'  '"P«r-abilitytodS 


'■I 


X 


148  QiOob-BY    TO    BAFFIN. 

would  still  keep  them  in  the  advance ;  and  we  were 
ignorant  of  their  course  and  intended  scheme  of  search. 
We  had  dreamed  hefore  this,  and  pleasantly  enough, 
of  fellowship  with  them  in. our  efforts,  dividing  be- 

\  tween  us  the  hazards  of  the  way,  anil  perhaps  in  the 

"*  long  winter  holding  with  them  the  cheery  intercourse 
^of  kindred  sympathijes.  We  waked  now  to  the  prob- 
abilities of  passing  tne  dark  days  alone.  Yet  fairly  on 
the  way,  an  energetic  commander,  a  united  ship's  com- 
pany, the  wind  freshening,  our  well-tried  little  ice- 
boat now  groping  her  way  like-  a  blind  man  through 
fog  and  hergs,  and  now  dashing  on  as  if  reckless  of  all 
but  success— it  was'  impossible  to  repress  a  sentiment 
almost  akin  to  the  so-called  joyous  excitement  of  con- 
flict.    '  . 

We  were  bidding  good-by  to  "ye  goode  baye  of  old 
William  Baffin ;"  and  as  we  looked  round  with  a  fare- 
well remembrance  upon  the  still  water,  the  diminished  * 
icebergs,  and  the  constant  sun  which  had  served  us  so 
long  and  faithfully,  we  .felt  that  the  bay  had  used  us 
kindly.  ■  ^ 

Though  I  had  read  a  good  deal  in  %e  voyagers' 

'  boots  about  Baffin's  Bay,  I  had  strangely  and  entirely 
misconceived  the  prominent  features  of  its  summer 
scenery.  Thereis  a  combination  of  warmth  and  cold 
in  the  tone  of  its  landscapes,  a  daring,  eccentric  vari- 
ety of  forms,  an  ii\tense  clearness,  almost  energy  of  ex- 
pression,  which  might  tax  Turner  and  Stanfield  to- 
gether  to  reproduce  them  with  an  apprdach  to  truth. 
How  cou^d  they  trace  the  features  of  the  iceberg,  melt- 
ing into  shapes  so  boldly  marked,  yet  so  ilndeftned  ;  or 
body  forth,  its  cold  varieties  of  unshaded' white,  or  the 
azure  clare-oBkcure  of  this  ice-chptsm !     Thert  are  the 

-  blaekMHs,bloW  upoa  rolling  snow ;  the  iee-plain,  mar^^ 

.     ■  V 


CONTINUOUS    DAYLIGHT. 


X. 


1J9 


in.  above  b'oth!  Sht„fh''p':™S:"  '"'^■™- 
permanency  compared  with  th'e  e„h.  ,'  '"""'"^ 
beat  agaihst  its  sides.  'Pk^meral  ruins  that 

AU  this  is  attempered  bv  the  w«™    i    ■ 
ed  atmosphere.     The  skv  of  B  «  ™  I   ""^  "^ "  ""*- 
eight  hundred  miles  from^hePo?,-^"^' t''""^''  •"" 
emness,  is  as  warn  as"he  bL    f  m  '?'*  "^"^^  "'"'''■ 
rain.    What  art™  then  .!  u^^^'^'  ""^^  "  ^""^ 

^fenedeharaiUIrtheiowsf    ^^Z""'^'^'  '""'  " 
but  there  was  no  iwulght  '""'  '  ™"  "* '"'™''. 

m^^e  f pktLrft  wL'  *"^-  ^^"^  ""^^^'''^  "''y 

^  "i^ht Arctic sun'setntru„r"  1T  *"*  """<'■ 
tliat,  whether  you  ate  or Ti  T'  »"'' P'«asant  to  (i„d 

«  daylight':!"!:,  '  P  '  -  to- 1  *"''*"■  ""' 
forced  upon  you  ib,  <,vct.™    f  "  "'''some  night 

I  could  dine'a?  ZZlZ  s"un"T."'T.  a'ternatioL. 
eo  to  bed  at  noJTday  ^tnd  P  /  '^"™'''  ""'' 
coils  and  cogs,  called'a  w„t  ^  ,T  ^PP"™*"^  "f 
™er  aiffl  no  wo^         ***"='''  *"»'''  ^ave  been  no 

«*emed  to  JgL  thrown  off Tb  '1'™"*  '«'*«'™''-     1 
6ct,  I  cojaferdr,T!i        ?^  ''"^'y  "'■  '•""■■B.    In 


.vjJBWff,  dnst-covered,  on  our  lockers-I  am 


t 


#: 


u 


NTINUOCS    DAYLIGHT, 


.% 


•5     *. 


#• 


fe 


*$^ 


)ting  the  words  of  my  journal--^puzzled  me,  as 
*  things  obsolete  and  fanciful. 

This  was  instinctive,  perhaps ;  but  by-and-by  came 
other  feelings.  ,,TJMiilMdljrf;ual  light,  garish  and  un- 
fluctuating, dis'iffflrttettmer  *I  b^l^m©  gradually  aware 
-  of  an  unknown  excitant,  a  stimulus,  acting  constant- 
ly, like  the  diminutive  of  a  cup  of  strong  coffee,  ^jbf 
sleep  was  curtailed  and  irregularis  my  meaf  hours H^ 
upon  each  other's  heels;  and  but  for  stringent  regula- 
tions of  my  own  imposing,  my  routine  wou,ld  have 
been  completely  broken  up.  ' 

My  lot  had  been  past  in  the  zone  of  liripdendrons  and 
sugar-maples,  in  the  nearly  midway  latitude  of  40°, 
I  had  been  habiti<|ited  to  day  and  night -and  every 
portion  of  these  two  great  divisions  hadjipme  its  pe- 
riods of  peculiar  association.  Even  in  the  tropics,  I 
•had-mourned  the  lost  twiligSt.  How  much  more  did 
Mniss  the  soothing  darkne^,  of  which  twilight  should 
have  been  the  precursor!  >I  began  to  feel,  with  more 
of  eniotion  thi^  a  man  writing  for  others  likik  to  con- 
fess to,  how  admirable,  as  K.  systematic  law,  is  the  cal- 
tqni^tion'^day  ^nd  nigh t-4- words  that  type  the  two 
gw^  conmtions  of  living  .nature,  action^  and  repose. 
,T<i  those  who  with  daily  labor  jeam. the  daily  bread, 
ho\)^il^ly  the  seejipn  of  slee»[  To  the  drone  who, 
urged^y  the  waning  daylight,  hastens  tl^e  deferred 
task,  how  fortunate  th|^.,his  -procrasmiatmi^  has  not  a 
six  mijintHs*  rngpoww^ll?  the  brain-wdVkers  among 
men,  the^  en^Bjiasts.  wh*  bear  irksomely  the  dark 
screj^n  ^which^W^  tif«n  their  day-dreams,  how  benig- 
nant the  dear'wght  blessing,  which  enforces  reluctant 
re^t! 


1 


:M^.v% 


N 


■%, 


BEECHV.  FRON   POIBT  |NN»«. 

CHAPTER  XX. 


.f 


*^  ^'^g-ws?  19.  The  wind  contin„A,l   /•     u     • 
An^  fallin.  two  tenth"  i  T.'^'fl/'^^f-"^'  «- 


An^  falling  two  tenths  inlhe' nTht^'AT'"/'*?!" 
I  waFnaUed  hy  our  master  wif^f^  "*  ^'^^* 

Captain  Penny',  squadron  ZUT     i       *  **"'  ^"^ 

was  three  day.  agotfc^e;^  Xdf '''""  *™'^™> 
^tamig  PfOVIsIon  trnnsnnrf  .f  T ' .  "^^^^^  ^^lar,  ttis 


™-ng  pr„v,s,„n  transp„;  ;?ra;e";nmer:  wS 


152 


ENTERING    LrANCASTER    SOUND. 


somewhere  in  Lancaster  Sound,  probably  at  Leopold 
IslaUd.     For  the  rest,  God  speed ! 

"  As  she  slowly  forged  ahead,  there  came  over  the 
rough  sea  that  good  old  English  hurra,  which  we  in- 
herit on  our  side  the  water.  *  Three  cheers,  hearty, 
with  a  will !'  indicating  as  much  of  brotherhood  as 
sympathy.  ♦  Stand  aloft,  boys !'  9,nd  we  gave  back  the 
greeting.  One  cheer  more  of  acknowledgment  on  each 
side,  and  the  sister  flags  separated,  each  on  its  errand 
of  mercy. 

"  8  P.M.  The  breeze  has  freshened  to  a  gale.  Fogs 
have  closed  round  us,  and  we  are  driving  ahead  again, 
with  look-outs  on 'every  side.  We  have  no  observa- 
tion ;  but  by  estimate  we  must  have  got  into  Lancas- 
ter  Sound. 

"  The  sea  is  short..and  excessive.  Every  thing  on 
deck,  even  anchors  and  quarter-boats,  have  *  fetched 
away,'  and  the  little  cabin  is  half  afloat.  The  Rescue 
is  staggering  under  heavy  sail  astern  of  us.  We  are 
making  six  or  seven  knots  an  hour.  Murdaugh  is 
ahead,  looking  out  for  ice  and  rocks ;  De  Haven  con- 
ning the  ship. 

"  All  at  once  a  high  mountain  shore  rises  before  us, 
and  a  couple  of  isolated  rooks  show  themselves,  not 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  ahead,  white  with  break- 
ers.    Both  vessels  are  laid  to." 

The  storm  reminded  me  of  a  Mexican  "  norther." 
It  was  not  till  the  afternoon  of  the  next  day  that  we 
were  able  to  resume  our  track,  under  a  double-reefed 
top-sail,  stay-sail,  and  spencer.  We  were,  of  course, 
without  observation  still,  and  could  only  reckon  that 
we  had  passed  the  Cunningham  l^ountains  and  Cape 
Warrender. 

About  three  o'clock  in  the  jmorning  of  th^  2 1  st^  an. 


m-f 


7// 


i'' 


I- 


S^R    JOHN    ROSS. 


ov«r,  Weared  to  be  a  launch,  deckel 

Wbre  the  Wind,  ship^^ ;;',XaT,  ' "'"'  '^'''-'  <'"vlng 
tie  schooner  was  under  a  fw^f^'^^'J"""-    The  lit 

-med  fluttering  otrl;e'~'^*'P^^^^^^ 
Presently  an  old  fellow  wiZI    ,    f  "■  ""PP'ea  1^1 

"'ght  gear,  appeared  iX  ,1'  °'<»''  *<*«<t  over  his 

Arctic  veteran.  Sir ttaS^f:^  ^  "■"*  ""««-'   " 
heartiness  with  which  theTlil-        i'""'*'''<"ge"'ie 

the  midst  of  our  diaCr^^f'"!r®"*"''"g»«'.  i» 
««•'  ItwassoinSS    ■A!^'""*.''««*adofth;m  ■ 

.t  Pond's  Bay;  Pe^  wa^tm""t **" ^''»*' *- 
«"<!  others  of  Austin's  sTj™?!^"'  '"  *»  «»'«;  ' 
north  side  of  the  Sound.  ^1^7,1^™;?'"""^  «>« 
,    »ere  on  the  lead.  -  r*"  »"''«'« Advance 

"Before  we  separated,  Sir  Johr.  n     '  ' 

and  stood  at  the  side  of  hi  „S  H  """^  ""  ^'^^'  ' 
borlt  man,  apparently  v«nrl»«r  ;•,*"*  ^"""B- 
w^U  able  to  bear  hJp^t^C.Tf"' '"  y»'»'  -""I 
I'fo-  He  has  been  w^d  "i  tf  r^^  '"«'  '"'^"'^  "f 
■aents-twice  desperl°dv  1."?  .'^'"  ^"^wl  ™»'^o- 
*"«»'•    He'.asS^j^?«"*Aftomh<^      ' 

«%,  and  performed  in  ™trf!/''''''"*»''''''«'^»'»l-      ^ 
feat  of  wintering  fou^^      T  **  ""P^aileled 
here  ho  is  again,  in  a  fltt?S.ti    "^".l  *""'*'•    ^"^ 
u*mg  his  puse  Mid  hisEr^  ' '*®'' '^■'Wl*-"  ' 

'he  crusade  of  search  f«rTf^^'  ^«™1'<«1  himself  in     - 

*Ad«Wty  iS^^-^/t^;;^*  <*™'«J«-    We  met  him 

n 


154 


THE     PRINCE    ALBERT. 


1  Soon  after  midnight,  the  land  became  visible  on  the 

||  ^  north  side  of  the  Sound.    We  had  pissed  Cape  Charles 

Yorke  and  Cape  Crawfuril,  and  wire  fanning  along, 
sluggishly  with  all  the  sail  we  could  crowd  for  Port 
Leopold. 

It  was  the  next  day,  however,  before  tye  oame  in 

<*      sight  of  the  island,  and  it  was  nearly  spent 'when  we 

found  ourselves  slowly  approaching  Whaler  Point,  the 

^  -    seat  of  the  harbor.     Our  way  had  been  remarkably 

"^  clear  of  ice  for  some  days,  and  we  were  vexed  to  find,^ 

therefore,  that  a  firm  and  rugged  bfirier  extended  ?Jlong    '^ 
the  western  shore  o£  the  inlet,  and  apparently  across 
^  the  entrance  we  were  ^^eking. 

It  was  a  great  relief  to  us  to  Sge,  at  hklf  gast  six  in," 
the  evening,  a  top-sail  schooner  working  towfttd  us 
through  the  ice.  She  boarded  us  at  t^n,  and  proved 
to  be  Lady  Franklin's  own  search- vessel,  the  Prinwif' 

,     Albert.  *     .^        '^'^ 

This  was  a  very  pleasant  meeting.     Captain  For-  ^ 
^  syth,  who  commanded  the  Albert,  and  Mr.  Snow,  who  * 

acted  as  a  sort  of  adjutant  under  him,  were  very  agree-lij,.^ 

able  gentlemen.     They  spent  sonie  hours  with  us; 

which  Mr.  Snow  k»s  remeirftered  kindly  in  the  journal 

.  «"' '       he  has  published ^since  hisAreturn  to  England.     Their 

little  vessel  was  much  less  ]^rfectly  fitted  thap  ours  to 

-    -  j^  encounter  the  perils  of  the  ice ;  but  in  one  respect  at 

least  their  expedition  resembles  our  Own.     Jhey  iW 

to'  rough  it :  to  use  a  Western  phrase,  they  ]^  no  fan-,. 

,     '  -    cy  fixings — nothing  but  what  a  hasty  outfit  &nd  a';yim- 

ited  ptirse  could  supply.-    They  wex&  now  boutid  for 

Cape  Rennell,  after  Svhich  ttey  propoacd|^m[aking  a 

*    *"        sledge  excursion  over  the  lower  Boothian  and  Gock- 

^  burne  lands. 

'  The  Nortl\  Star,  they  told  ua|jjiad  been  caught  by      I 


«r 


L 


CAPE    RILEY. 


155 


om  drift/she  had  T"/}     ^^"""^^     After  a  peril- 
Sound,  wh Jce  afL"^ V  r** '"  '"'"""^  Wol.fe.holm« 

ed  r:i^^Xti:tf?'^  "^^' '^''^  -  -  p-t. 

lighted  the  shore  aS  °       ,  '*''''''  *■>«  *^"-    We 
fturd  very  closeiv    „  T,'"^  *"  *'"'  ^^'*  "^  Cape 

terraces  of  bS.'i:^^'''''  ■""''^'"-^.  »-".-  in 
the  hills  like  a  vasUWr*""''  ""'"'''"  "«'-- 

»neofthem,themostco„  J        '^  "''"''  *«'°  """s, 

.  /baJJ.    K  couple  of  ho„  "  aft""''  "'*'' "  ""^-^taff  and 

.^(Slandi,  Theca^t™  f-  T^"  *»"  "^^^  enough 

»v    hWtone,  but  a?^',trt!,"  ''^'''•°J^<'«"gt<>''gueof 

5  •  4ses  U>  the  height  of  r         T"  '"'''""'  "  'he  cliff 

.  »S «>««lfor»ationC Onnt  n'^'"'  ""''•"•  «'"«'>- 
•  *-  two  days  beC  us  :'  h  tl^T"?'^  "^  "-" 
;.  trepid;  belonging  to  :f»r,'t!^  .  ^'™'*''"''  """l  h. 
■-iad  discoV^idUes  :?  a?  """''  Sl^dron,  ahd 
i"dic»tiois"thJ^ll;"  ™'=™r<'»t.  and  other 

nio.  /ajestj-s  -rvice  hJSte„  J:i|"V?t^  ^"""'• 
.   SimilaT  traces,  ifwaf^^I,   a^"^^  "'  *'''''  ^l»t.'- 
Beechy  Jslaml  a  pToTecln    '    f^u"  '"'""^  "'-  <»■ 
ten  mile,  from  ^^5°^         *'  ""'"'""  ^'''''  «""•« 

^^ZSX^^J'^-^-teretfwhil^the     . 


^cei^wereincompaijy. 


c 


•  1 


•^ 


•4 


^: 


rt.<  ' 


^'       ,        }' 


»  '» 


I 

•  1  r  • 


":^ 


■'!? 


156 


FRAlS'KLIN    S    ENCAMPMENT. 


I  inspected  these  different  traces  very  carefully,  and 
noted  what  I  observed  at  the  moment.  The  appear- 
ances which  connect  them  with  the  story  of  Sir  John 
Franklin  have  been  described  by  others ;  but  there 
may  still  be  interest  in  a  description  of  them  made 
while  they  were  under  my  eye.  I  transcribe  it  word 
for  word  from  my  journal. 

•'  On  a  tongue  of  fossiliferous  limestone,  fronting  to- 
ward  the  west  on  a  little  indentation  of  the  water,  and 
shielded  from  the  north  by  the  precipitous  cliffs,  are 
five  distinct  remnants  of  habitation. 

"  Nearest  the  cliffs,  four  circular  mounds  or  heap- , 
ings-up  of  the  crumbled  limestone,  aided  by  larger 
stones  placed  at  the  outer  edge,  as  if  to  protect  the 
leash  of  a  tent.  Two  larger  stones^  with  an  interval 
of  two  feet,  fronting  the  west,  mark  the  places  of  en- 
triuice. 

"  Several  large  square  stones,  so  arranged  as  to  serve 
probably  for  a  fire-place.  These  have  been'  tumbled 
over  by  parties  before  us. 

"  More  distant  from  the  cliffs,  yet  in  line  with  the 
four  already  described,  is  a  larger  inclosure ;  the  door 
facing  south,  and  looking  toward  the  gtra,it :  this  so- 
called  door  is  simply  an  entrance  mad^  of  large  stones 
placed  one  above  the  other.  The  inclosure  itself  tri- 
angular; its  northern  side  about  eighteen  inches  high, 
built  up  of  flat  stones.  Some  bird  bones  and  one  rib 
of  a  seal  were  found  exactly  in  the  centre  of  this  ti'i- 
angle,  as  if  a-  party  had  sat  round  it  eating ;  and  tire 
top  of  a  preserved  nieat  case,  much  rusted,  was  found 
in  thp*sartie  place.  I  picked  up  a  piece  of  canvas  or 
(luck  on  the  gliff  side,  well  worn  by  the  jweather :  the 
sailors  recognized  it  at  Once  as  the  gore  of  a  pair  of 
trowsers. 


/ 


v 


n> 


FKANKLIN'S    KNCAM.MENT, 


15? 

perfect  than  the  111  ^L  '^""  f/f-    '»  w«  JeS 

"On  the  beach  some Tw   ?""""  "' ""  "''''"  •'"to- 
the  triangular  inc'Ce  T'  "'  *'""^  J""*"'  f""" 
woed  abo^t  four  fnte  To'nHIirjr'  P--  ,"f  P-e 
and  black,  and  in  on«  T,  f  ^'*'"'' ""'' «'hite, 

parts  of  a  boat  andTnn     ^  ^r"'  P'""«':  ""dently 
wood."  '   "''  "mrently  collected  as  kindling 

4tdt::;n;ShrTh '"  *):  ---- 

work  of  Esquimaux    the  whol/.'^ '"''"'''  ""'  "-^  «•« 
tradicted  it :  and  the  onirp      '^^"^^'  "fthem  con- 

v-sited  Cpe  Kiley  ^a"  parfv  2"";  """.'"•"''  '"'™ 
fore;  and  we  knew  from  w7;  '^'"  ^-f  S^t  years  be. 
encamped  here.  nTj^'a'""^  """  ''«  ""^  ">" 
of  hke  vestiges  on  BeX  w  '  ^'"."""""'y'^  discovery 
a  party  movLg  i^  S  d.vT  '''f '  ""  ""  *"«'''  "^  ' 
ehannel :  all  thel"  soel  /'"",  H^^^™  '*  and  the 
iin's  squadron  '^    "^  "^'' '"'"'  P'^y  *«■"  Frank, 

e..trrfte7Cn'°ch^r;T   "-^  "•« 
the  .asiaV"  LTis~,t:;;v  ^"'"''^-'  -"p 

promontory  of  limestn^r.    ^"t  '^  *  Pemnsula  or  a 
atCapeKLy.lrnlTdri.  tjltl^r  '""        ' 

W;  and'^hi":  'SrtVer„df ''■^"'''"^      ' 
^ast  of  north,  we  saw'fh^  i       !  ""*  ^^"^  *«  *he  . 

i^arry  merely  sTZTthl        ?^r"''  ^"^^  ^^-^er,. 

th^t  the  shoreletf^^^^^^^^^^       ^"  ^.  ^^«*^-VSo 


^^^  '^'  ^^^^^^EeTFunning  surve)r 


f*' 


f? 


■.:». 


>■ 


>       .. 


V       k. 


168 


FRANKLif  S    PNCAMPMENT. 


fih 


',♦?, 


of  this  celebrated  explorer  had  left  nothing  t<?  alter. 
To  the  north  of  Cape  Innes,  though  the  coast  retains 
the  same  geognosticaP  character,  the  bluflf  promonto- 
ries su*bside'into  low  hills,  between  whicli  the  beach> 
composed  of  coarse  siliciaus  limestone,  sweeps  in  long 
curvilinear  terraces.  Measuring  some  of  these  rudely 
afterward,  I  found  that  the  elevation  of  the  highest 
,  plateau  did- not  exceed  forty  feet. 

Our  way  northward  was  along  an  ice  channel  close 
under  the  eastern  shore,  and  bounded  on  the  other  side 
by  the  ice-pack,.at  a  distance  varying  from  a  quarter  / 
of  a  mile  to  a  mile  and  tliree  quarters.  Off  Cape  Spen- 
cer the  way  seemdd  more  open,  widening  perhaps  to 
two  miles,  and  showing  something  like  continued  free 
water  to  the  diorth  and  west.  Here  we  met  Captain 
Penny,  with  the  Lady  Franklin  and  Sophia..  He  told 
us  that  the  channel  was  completely  shut  in  ahead  by 
«,cdmpacticebarrier,wKich  connected  itself  with  that  * 
tQ  the  west,  describing  a  horseshoe  bend.  He  thought 
a  southwester  was  coming  on,  and  counseled  us  to  pre-^ 
pare  for  the  chances  of  an  impactment.  The  go-ahead 
determination  "iwhich  characterized  ou):  commander 
made,  us  tesl'fhe  correctness  of  his  advice.  We  push- 
ed on,  trafcltedfrthe  iiorseshoe  circuit  of  the  ice  without 
finding  an  outlet,  and  were  glad  to  labor  Back  again 
almost  iiiihe  teeth  of  a  gale. 

Captain  Penny  |>ad  occupied  the  time  more  profita- 
bly. In  company  with  Dr.  Goodsir,  an  enthusiastic 
explorer  a.nd  highly  educated  gentleman,  whose  broth- 
er was  an  assistant  surgeon  on  board  the  missing  ves- 
sels, jie  had  been  examining  the  shore.  6n  the  ridge 
of  limestone,  between  Cape  Spencer  an^  Point  Innes, 
they  had  come  across  additional  proofp  that  Sir  John's 
party  had  been  here — very  important  these  pro<>fs  aa 


#:.. 


■>,'?- 


franklin's 


ENCAMPMENT, 


159 


paper,  bearing  the  -kteTuI H^^'  T^  '^'"'"- 
the  words  "untU  call«,J"  „  '.fP^P*'  fragment,  with 
watchorder;  and  two  ntK  /  '  ^'^'^"'^'Y  Part  of  a 
name  of  one 'omallun^ffi*^"^"?*^'  "^  "i*  'he 

surgeon  of  the  T^n-r  ThIvT  l"/"'*'''  ^"^^  '^^''^^'"    ' 
the  articles  found  bv  c\Zi'"''*^'%^  """>"? 

with  spies  inserted  in  them  IZ        '"  ^'"'*  """"^' 
handle,  as.  if  to  fish  „„';"'  *"''  .""-ranged  for  a  long 

footless  stockSJs  ti  Jr?!?  "[*""'' '  '«^"«'  «»»« 

dress,  &c.,  te  ;  aC  wl  tlT,?'  *^?  ""t""'  *k« 
party  that  had  sufreredt^i*tH  "^'"'  T''«  «''■' 
ward.  Acting  „„  tWs  i^C  clplrp'^"^  '"'■ 
>  proceed  toward  Lm^'X^^T"  ^"^"y  «"« 


ate»t  to  proceed  tj;;rBTrCl    tb 

shore  of  Lan««.sf«.  «„.,_  j  T    .  ^  .^^J"'  «J«i&  the  north 

•fefic 


*oVe  of  Wa.t«  Sol/™"    b    '^^  1^  *'"'  "»'*'• 
.  them,  or,  more  probabrtCir  UetT/'^""''"**"''^ 

For  inyself,  iLiang  oL V  "  tw^"?  '"T"'- 
discarding  ever,,  deduct  "„tK   *'"','f  *»■  ««<!  oarefuUy 

-y^path/rathertS^Xnmr'^''"",'""'"^'^'"'^ 
that  I  did  not  se6  in^i,  ^  '    ^  •'""""l  '^rainds  me 

party.  t::\2;^^'':zT'-  ""'^■"^  "^"^  '-* 

might  be  that  it  waJd^l'''  '"-^^on ;  but  it 
obser™ti„ns,Vrre;p^»rit"^t*^™^^»»«ng"^ 
ations  ofth;  spW CuiAr^ ''"**° '•"' °P" 
winter  quarters  at  SJ»n-.       ''"?''»'««  Io«kea  in  ' 

-"-d^x^rbS^^t'^etin'g  :ftr  ■ '"'^  •''^  - 

J  mav  aan  ««  r.^*      xi        "P^'mng^  ot  the  ice. 


part),  ^hatevei-  may- have  bS^ts^ 


-v 


■    » 


160 


FRANKLIN    S    ENCAMPMENT. 


tion  or  purposes,  that  the  vacant  water-spaces  apund 
Qs  at  this  time  were  teeming  with  animal  life.  After 
passing  Beechy,  we  saw  seal  disporting  in  great  flpeks, 
rising  out  of  the  water  as  high  as  their  middle,  like 
boys  in  swimii:ang;  the  white  whale,  the  first  we 
had  seen,  to  the  extent  of  thirty-eight  separate  shoals ; 
the  narwhal,  or  sea-uniconn ;  and,  finally,  that  marine.^ 
pachyderm,  the  tusky  walrus.  These  last  wereiilways 
crowded  on  small  tongues  of  ice,  who$^  purity  they 
marred  not  a  little — grim-looking  monsters,  reminding 
me  of  the  stage  hobgoblins,  soniething  venerablfe  and 
semi-Egyptian  withal.  We  passed  so  close  as  to  have 
seteral  shots  a^  them.  They  invariably  rose  after 
plunging,  andlooked  snortingly  around,  as  if  to  make 
fight.  Polar  bears  were  numerous  beyond  our  previous 
experience,  and  the  Arctic  fox  and  hare  abounded.  If 
we  add  to  these  the  crowding  tenants  of  the  air,  the 
Brent  goose,  which  now  came  in  great  cunoid  flocks 
from  the  north  and  north  by  east,  the  loons,  the  moi- 
lemokes,  and  the  divers,  we  may  form  an  estiihate  of 
the  means  of  human  subsistence  in  these  seas. 


>■■ 


-^^.  ^^^.^/J^, 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


ci^^  ^^^i^:^;^:^^  »a  cap.. 

vessels,  under  thfee  diffe/it?-  "'^  *«  searching 

same  ,uarte,  of  a  mi.tl&  *t  ?"« ''"''^' -'""n  thf 

0-  own.  'Both  h"  tTd  Pe'^n'A  r'^""^'"'  ""'' ' 
^  push  through  the  J„!Zl^'±t'i^ k  <>^<"t 


to  push  through  Te  ZnifTl""^  ""^'  «V  ^T^rt 
Srreat  belt  of  ife,  reach™  l*!*!,."^!*'  ""^'^-'.d  a^ 


•Srreat  belt  of  4,  reachinirin  ,  "***'  •"■*  ">»»<»  ^ 

eentlVomLeopold'/wajV"  ""  .^'T'*  ■'effular  cres- 
al«„t  half  a  mile  train  IT    ^     *'"'  "'"*''^™  «>•««. 
Captain  OmmanncyTiththrT  ?"'',"''  "■"'  «'>'"">el 
ha*  been  less  fort„„';"e^'^':,"J;H  and  Assistance, 

l"s  way  through  the  barrief  h,  ,  *  t  7? '"''  *"  ^"^^ 

•»'"  Penny.  TaW„T4  trdTl'T:""'''^  ""^  «"?■ 
«  met  Sir  John  Bo«  and  r  '^  ^'"' '"  ""f  "'ay, 
»  conference  naturalTy  took  „^'""""'»<''"-  Philips,  and 
fi"  concerted  opera  iLlf"  "J""  *''«'  »'«''*  plans 

-"I'  t'-.g^Ilant  diS"  estednT"  7'^  '"""''  ^*™''k 
^l-"*'"  by  all  the  ofCrTtt  ;'•■'"'  ^''*'*  *as 
7  ™erg..tic,  practical  fSirsk  *  TT''""-  ^''-'''''^ 
pan  of  action  for  each  ,",!,'  J!!"''"'  •""  "*  ""ce  a 

'-'f  ""uid  t<^,  the  wes  :?;„:,':"  t>-  . ""  "■"■- 


/■ 


T?o.s,s  should 


V 


run 


',"0 


.w  u-^.-w  .»smimeii>a 


J.UIUK-  —UVtf^WK 


I  «^.i  ■  !■  «  mjv 


\. 


I 


162 


THt     GRAVES. 


over  to  Prince  Regent's  Sound,  comyiunicate  the  news 
to  the  Prince  Albert,  and  so .  relieve  that  little  vessel 
from  the  now  unnecessary  perils  of  her  intended  expe- 
dition ;  and  we  were  to  press  through  the  first  open- 
ings  in  the  ice  by  Wellington  Channel,  to  the  north 
and  east. 

It  was  wisely  determined  by  brave  old  Sir  John 
that  he  would  leave  the  Maty,  his  tender  of  twelve 
tons,  at  a  little  inlet  near  the  point,  to  serve  as  a  full- 
back in  case  we  should  lose  our  vessels  or  become 
sealed  up  in  permanent  ice,  and  De  Haven  and  Penny 
engaged  their  respective  shares  of  her  outfit,  in  the 
snape  of  some  barrels  of  beef  and  flour.  Sir  John 
Ross,  I  think,  had  just  lert  us  to  go  on  board  his  little 
.  craft,  and  I  was  still  talking  over  ouy  projects  with 
Captain  Penny,  when  a  messenger  was  reported,  mak- 
ing  all  speed  to' us  over  ffie  ice. 

The  news  he  brought  was  thrilling.  "  Graves,  N^ap- 
tain  Penny!  graves!  Frariklin's  winter  quartfe^s!" 
We  were  instantly  in  motion'.  Captain  De  Haven, 
Captain  Penny,  Comnmnder  Phillips,  and  myself,  join- 
ed by  a  party  from  the  llescue,  hurried  on  over  the  ice, 
and,  scrambling  along  the  loose  and  rugged  skipe^at 
extends  from  Beechy  to  the  shore,  came,  after  a  weary 
walk,,to  the  crest  of  the  isthmus.  Here,  aiiiid  the  ster- 
ile uniformity  of  snow  and  slate,  were  the  head-boards 
of  three  graves,  made  after  the  old  orthodox  fashion  of 
gravestones  at  home.  The  mounds  ,whicb  adjoined 
them  were  arranged  with  some  pretensions  to  syinme- 
try,  coped  and  defended  with  limestone  slabs.  They 
occupied  a  line  facing  toward  Cape  Riley,  which  was 
distincfty  visible  across  a  little  cove  at  the  distance  oi 
some  four  hurid^fed  yttrds. 

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163 


"«      THE  graves; 
'^'^^SX^'^^-    ^^  -Crip- 

"Sacred 

to  the 

memory,, 

'         '  of 

^  Bbaink,  R.  M;, 
H.  M.  S.  Erebus 
Died  ApriJ  3d,  1846, 
Inu  ^Se**  32  years. 

Choose  ye  this  day  Whom  ye  Win  aerve.. 

Joshua,  eh.  xxiy.,  ig,, 


1'iie  second  -was  : 


'J 


"Sacred  to  the  memory  of 

^rebus, 
_  »«ed  23  years. 

Thus  saith  the  Lord,  consider  your  way,.. 

Waggai,  i.,  7." 


The  third  and  last  of  th.  "'^^"' ' ' '" 

-  ^;^^  finished  11:'  tr^he  t  "^^  "°*  ^^^ 
oi  .tone-work,  but  if«  ^eneTal"  J^!^^"^^  was  not 
pive-Jike,  more  like  the  S;  ^^f '^°'"  ^^«  "^ore 

-  i-ppier  lands.    It  wt  tS^'"^^  ^'  ^^"^*-- 

"Sacred       /  , 

.      '■  to  /  .  ,       •  / 

the  memoiy  ' 

John  ToRR,wi,ToX 

who  departed  this  life 

January  1st,  A.D.  1846, 
>■  "n  hoard  of 

▼  H.  M.  ship  Terror,  ' 

^  a«ed  20  years."  ■  . 

lsIr!??'p''^*V.^"^««^W^the  Terror  l.f  T 

i»46 !      Franklin's  shins  thor,  i,  J        '  ^"^  January,   , 

vvi-.  he  occupied  the™^^^^^^^ 

Two  large  stones  Were  imhp^T^       ^^^^^^  ' 

'^^one  a  little  to  the  iZ  o^l  '"^  ^"  ^"^^e  lime. 

/  a,  more  than  a  foot  in  diam 


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164 


MOUNDS. 


eter,  and  two  feet,  eight  inches  high,  which  had  evi-" 
dently  served  for  an  anvil-hlock :  the  marks  were  un.  ■ 
mistakable.  Near  it  again,  hut  still  more  to  the  east, 
and  therefore  nearer  the  beach,  was  a  large  blackened 
space,  covered  with  coal  cinders,  iron  nails,  spikes, 
hinges,  rings,  clearly  the^emains  of  the  armorer's  forge. 
Still  nearer  th'e'heaxih/liVLtmore  to  the  south,  was  the 
carpenter's  shop,  its  ftiarks  equally  distinctive. 

Leaving  "  the  graves,"  and  walking  toward  Wei- 
lington  Straits,  about  four  hundred  yards,  or  perhaps 
less,  we  came  to  a  m®und,  or  rather  a  series  of  mounds, 
which,  consideting  the  Arctic  character  of  the  surface 
at  this  spot,  must  have  been  a  work  of  labor.  It  in- 
closed  one  nearly  elliptical  ^rea,  and  one  other,  which, 
though  separated  from  the  first  by  a  lesser  mound, 
appeared  to  be  connected  with  it.  The  spaces  thus 
inclosed  abounded  in  fragmentary  remains.  Among 
them  I  saw  a  stocking  without  a  foot,  sewed  up  at  its 
edge,  and  a  mitten  not, so  much  the  worse  for  use  as 
to  have  been  without  value  to  its  owner.  Shavings 
of  wood  were  strewed  freely  on  the  southern  side  of 
the  mound,  as  if  they  had  been  collected  there  by  the 
continued  labor  of  artificers,  and  not  far  from  these,  a 
few  hundred  yards  lower  down,  was  the  remnant  of  a 
garden.  Weighing  all  the  signs  carefully,  I  had  no 
doubt  that  this  was  some  central  shore  establishment, 
'  connected  with  the  squadron,  and  that  the  lesser  area 
was  used  as  an  observatory,  for  it  had  large  stones 
fixed  as  if  to  support  instruments,  and  the  scantling 
props  still  stuck  in  the  frozen  soil.. 

Travelling  on  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  further,  and 
in  the  same  direction,  we  came  upon  a  deposit  of  mow 
than  six  hundred  preserved-meat  caijf ,  aUranged  in 
rflgiilar  nrdflr.    They  had  been  emptied,  and  were  now 


,*0^ 


TRACES. 


165 


filled  mth  limestone  pebbles,  perhaps  to  serve  »s  con 
vement  ballast  on  boating  expeditions.  " 

T  It  Tf*  T""^  *^'>  "o™  "'"'iotts  vestiges  of  Sir 
•  f "  ^"■f"''  P«^y-    The  minor  indications  abou^ 
,     the  ground  were  innumerable:  figments  of  oanv^ 

rope  cordage.s^.cloth, tarpaulins;  of casks,iron.wo^' 

et  imed  by  long  stitohes  with  common  cotton  stuff 
and  made  into  a.  sort  of  mdn  nn«t .  „         •  ' 

white  w»»t«  ,„A  "' '"<■»  ""at;  paper  in  scraps, 
wmte,  waste  and  journal;  a"  small  key;  a  few  odds 
aod  ends  of  brass-work,  such  as  iWeht  li  Jrt  „f  « 
umiture  of  a  locker;  in  a  word,tf  nlCe f 
hqmae  of  a  winter  resting-place.  One  of"rpIe^ 
which  I  have  preserved,  has  on  it  the  notation  ?fZ' 
^taomica^^sight,  worked  out  to  Greenwichtima 

With  all  this,  not  a  written  memorandum,  or  ^nt- 
mroross,oreventhe  vaguest  intimation  oTZZt 

clVu  'Ti  "'"u*''*  P'^'y-  The  traces  found  a 
Capefliley  and  Beechy  were  still  more  baiffing     The 

■  Z.T  ™""'<"'.r  ".  Wgh  and  conspicrus^rtion 

ton  bu  ,  though  several  parties  ejamiued  it,  digging 
round  It  m  every  direction,  not  afngle  partide  of  kf 
omiation  could  be  gleaned.    This  is  remXble  mS 

r.,"'v^\T'^  P"^*'"*''  ™  A'"*'"  command*  «Si^     : 
John  Frankhn,  an  incomprehensible  omissionf 

H„ill*.''"T„"'**"'''  ''**^««'>  th"  hills  which  come 
do™  toward  Beechy  Island,  the  searching  partie^  rf 

tt  Srr  T^  ^-  *'""''"'*''  °^»"  »™  ^^^ol  found 
tS  r*  '  ^°'^!  "'""'^  defined,  and  unmistak^ 
ble  both  as  to  character  and  direction.  They  nointed 
to  the  eastern  shores  of  Wellington  S«und,rn  th^^^ 
general  ,»urse  with  the  tracerdiscovered  by  pZv 
i^fl=fispJSpen«r  anifoint fanes   l°_^"j: 


'V 


r^ 


166 


CX)NCLUSIONS. 


^r 


Similar  traces  were  seen  toward  Caswell's  Tower 
and  Cape  Riley,  which  gave  additional  proofs  of  sys- 
tematic  journeyings.  They  could  be  traced  through 
the  comminuted  limestone  shingle  in  the  direction  of 
Cape  Spencer;  and  at  intervals  further  on  were  scraps 
of  paper,  lucifer  matches,  and  even  the  cinders  of  the 
temporary  fire.  The  pledge  parties  must  have  been 
regularly  organized,  for  their  course  had  evidently  been 
the  subject  of  a  previous  reconnoissance.  I  observed 
their  runner  tracks  not  only  in  the  limestone  crust, 
'  but  upon  some  snow  slopes  further  to  the  north.  It 
was  startling  to  see  the  evidences  of  a  travel  nearly 
six  years  old,  preserved  in  intaglio  on  a,  material  so 
perishable. 

The  snows  of  the  Arctic  regions,  by  alternations  of 
congelation  and  thaw,  acquire  sometimes  an  ice-like 
durifcliility ;  but  these  traces  had  been  covered  by  the 
after-snows  of  five  wintei-s.  They  pointed,  like  the 
Sastrugi,  or  snow- waves  of  the  Siberians,  to  the  march- 
^es  of  the  lost  coriipany.       _^ 

Mr.  Griffin,  who  perfodl^^  journey  of  research 
along  this  coast  toward-iSHrorth,  found  at  intervals, 
almost  to-Gape  Bowderi,^  traces  of  a  passing  party.  A 
corked  bottle,  quite  empty,  was  among  these.  Reach- 
ing a  point  beyond  Cape  Bowden,  he  discovered  the 
indentation  or  ^ay  which  now  bears  his  name,  and  on 
whose  opposite  shores  the  coast  was  again  seen. 

It  is  clear  to  my  own  mind  that  a  systematic  recon- 
noissance was  undertaken  by  Franklin  of  the  upper 
waters  of  the  Wellington,  and  that  it  had  for  its  object 
an  exploration  in  that  direction  as  soon  as  the  ice 
would  permit. 

There  were  some  features  about  this  deserted  home- 
^jjjpnd  inexpressibly  touching.    The  frozen  trough  of  oil 

...  V      ■ 


h 


CONCLUSIONS. 


lei 


old  watei  channel  had  served  «,  ti,„ , ,  u  i. 
for  the  cfew,  of  the  losS  „„  "^^  ^T  *■""" 
Jack  n«kes  by  ^awingT  tlf  the  w\  '  T"" ''^ 
though  io  longer  fed  bv  tL  „  ,.  j  ^^  '"'"■'''•  "'■ 
.»  tht  Washers  hLlleftfhl?''  '"""'■  '«"""»«'' 
tie  gardl,too:  I  dW  not  see"t  If  r'"  T  ^'"'  "*■ 
describi  it  as  still  shoX  tto^l  ?"' '^''''™ 

.     ttat  weje  transplantedTy  ItfLmtr  ™t ""r™"" 
plies  a  Purpose  either  +..  L»,  .^^^^-     ^  garden  im- 

.  ti  fro„.xr"  ::r .  T  ""',/^' '» "-p 

measnre  the  value  rfthtse  gloverh    .K^  ^^''^  *» 
could  be  bought  for  in  E  £     !      I  **"*  P™«  *K 

.wod  upon  the  g™*urrhf„:  r"™*"™'  -^  *» 
=rL!ra<^--i^*  pa- cr; 

oftheflag-ehiD  the  Fr„l!     ^        ?*  '"""^  "^  *«  "«w    ' 
-t-varTusTiri?^"-^-- 


■0 


M 


■«■ , 


•    >• 


168 


CONJECTURE. 


I 

I 


a  position  which  commanded  a  full  view  of  Lancaster 
Sound  to  the  east  of  south,  and  of  Wellington  Chaii- 
nel  extending  north.  It  may  he  fairly  inferred,  also, 
that  the  general  health  of  the  crews  had  not  suffered 
severely,  three  only  having  died  out  of  a  hundred  and 
thirty  odd ;  and  that  in  addition  to  the  ordinary  details 
of  duty,  they  were  occupied  in  conducting  and  comput- 
ing  astronomical  observations,  making  sledges,  prepar- 
ing  their  little  anti-scorbutic  garden  patches,  and  ex- 
ploring  the  eastern  shore  of  the  channel.  Many  facts 
that  we  ourselves  observed  made  it  seem  probable  that 
Franklin  had  not,  in  the  first  instance,  been  able  to 
prosecute  his  instructions  for  the  Western  search ;  and 
the  examinations  made  so  fully  since  by  Captain  Aus- 
tin's officers  have  proved  that  he  never  reached  Cape 
Walker,  Banks'  Latid,  Melville  Island,  Prince  Regent's 
Inlet,  or  any  point  of  the  sound  considerably  to  the 
west  or  southwest.  The  whole  story  of  our  combined 
operations  in  and  about  the  channel  shows  that  it  is 
along  its  eastern  margin  that  the  water-leads  occur 
most  frequently :  natural  causes  of  general  application 
may  be  assigned  for  this,  some  of  which  will  readily 
suggest  themselves  to  Qie  physicist ;  but  I  have  only 
!o  do  here  with  the  recognized  fact. 

So  far  I  think  we  proceed  safely.  The  rest  is  con- 
jectural. Let  us  suppose  the  season  for  renewed  prog- 
ress  to  be  approaching ;  Franklin  and  his  crews,  with 
their  vessels,  one  or  both,  looking  out  anxiously  from 
their  narrdw  isthmus  for  the  first  openings  of  the  ice. 
They  coltie :  a  gale  of  wind  has  severed  the  pack,  and 
the  drift  begins.  The  first  clear  water  that  would  meet 
his  eye  would  be  close  to  the  shore  on  which  he  had 
his  encampment.  Would  he  wait  till  the  continued 
drift  had  made  the  navigation  practicable  in  Lancas- 


o. 


CONJEcfl/KE. 


169 


out  a  long  circuit;  o  wl^w  L  '^  "»' '^«* ^"k- 
through  tlie  open  ead  7hZ,  I ''/*'"  *°  *•>«  """h 
who  know  FraSntci.atf.^^'?'^  '>™^  TI,o.e 
hi»  determined  pur^ie'^^n^n  '"l''«'"''^»<'  "Pinions, 
ly  published  letter^;;::  ^l^T'"^  '"  ""^  '"'- 
think  the  question  diffic^t  il.  T'  *'"  '"'""y 

alreadrpioneered  theX  '".^rtr;s''-'«'8-  had' 
ourselves  tempted  hv  tt./ ■  ^L  ' '"^  ^e^'^ers,  were 
north  in  WelhSn  ^hannir*  '""'."P""*"^  '<•  'he 

that  some  lueky'X.cSt  linf  "". '"  "■«  ''"^ 
beyond.     Miffhtnoffh.     ^^^:  P^^^*  "s  to  an  outlet 

influence  for  it'  11'^^^'"^^'"'  'T  ""^  "^ 
ing  navigator,  such  a.,  h„?  A  careful  and  dar- 

lead  to  close.    I  canTmali      i^.""  ""'  ™*  ("'^  the 
the  observatory  wouWbtT  *^?'r*«h  ^"h  which 
tablishment  brSIn  and  tW     ''  *'''  """"""''^  "- 
unde^tand  how  the  Ire^rv^A        1""  '''"'"^-     ^  <"»» 
"able,  yet  not  wortIC  ,„TJ,rh    iT''-,""'  ™'^  ™'- 
shore ;  how  one  man  ^;i^  f        u  '"  ^'^^  "P»"  the 
hfe  blan^bt  coat  ^d  TitiT"  '"'  ""**"''  «»ther 
his  lostTey     An^'';,''"'''  ''""y?™'  *he  search  for  • 
seme  explanation  „fth„  „     !  "^"^"'  <»  ™"Jecture 

know  what  I  ZfrX  Tll^H^  ''^™-  '  «'''  "-"   =  * 
tendanton  iustsul  .    J^        "'  *^^  excitement  at- 
from  a  we^l^  "L  "^''r  ■""»  ■"'expected  release 

«f  energetinurSTrCtrt ^  ^*-'  ^-P-t 


^ 


ite^B**' 


12 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


" 


"August  28.  Strange  enough,  during  the  night, 
Captain  Austin,  of  her  majesty's  search  squadron,  with 
his  flag-ship  the  Resolute,  entered  the  same  httle  in- 
dentation  in  which  five  of  us  were  moored  before.  His 
steam4ender,  the  Pioneer,  grounded  off  the  point  of 
Beechy  Island,  and  is  now  in  «ight,  canted  over  by  the 
ice  nearly  to  her  beam  ends.  He  has  come  to  us  not 
of  design,  but  under  the  irresistible  guidance  of  the 
ice.  We  are  now  seven  vessels  within  hailing  dis- 
tance, not  counting  Captain  Ommanney's,  imbedded 
in  the  field  to  ihe  westward. 

"  I  called  this  morning  on  Sir  John  Ross,  and  had  a 
long  talk  with  him.    He  said  that,  as  far  back  as  1847, 
anticipating  the  '  detention'  of  Sir  John  Franklin— I  . 
use  his  own  Vord— he  had  volunteered  his  services  for 
an  expedition  of  retrieve,  asking  for  the  purpose  four 
small  vessels,  something^iike  our  own ;  but  no  one  list- 
ened to  hi«^,"  Voluijfteering  again  in  1848,  he  .was 
told  that  his  nephew*s  claim  to  the  service  tad  re- 
ceived  a  recognition;  whereupon  his  own  was  with- 
drawn.    *  I  told  Sir  John,'  said  Ross, '  that  my  own  ex- 
perience in  these  seas  proved  that  all  these  sounds  and 
inlets  may,  by  the  caprice  or  even  the  routine  of  sea- 
sons, be  closed  So  as  to  prevent  any  egress,  and  that  a 
missing  or  shut-off  party  must  have  some  means  of 
V,  falling  back.     It  was  thus  I  saved  myself  from  the 
abandoned  Victory  by  a  previously  constructed  house 
for  wintering,  and  a  boat  for  temporary  refuge.'    All 
=^ahis^  he  says,  he  pressed  on  Sir  John  Franklin  before 


m 


'     VISIT    TO    THE    RESOLUTE.  271 

it;  he  added, '  Franklin  will^  '  ^^^""^  "P^« 

.0  be  foHowi,,  rtt^^  ICZyTVlC. 
the  party,  whose  winter  quarters  w„  L     '^j  **"" 

.ento„to„,ye.p,„rMg  deU™:„rat:t~^. 
Sound  m  the  sprinff  and  tho»      u       .,^  Wellington 

leased,  continued' onttt  west'  by  San   n^'™^  "• 

.Barrow',  Straits  t    I  have  given  thi^extr^Tf """"'' 

journal,  though  the  theorylt  suggests  hislh  "^ 

ch«.t^.t.^„nhtiX^rsera„'-«^^^ed  aa 
I  next  Visited  the  Resolute.     I  shall  no*  V. 

*  The  officers  received  me  fnr  T  «,„      i  . 

»rdia.ity  of  reoognj  JtrheAood     Thr  ^'*  ""' 
tlemanly,  well-edueated  TtJ  ..       ^  "'*  "  e™" 

the  hist^y  of  whatlrr  °f™»".  thoroughly  up  to 

of  personal  resonr:      t^Z.T   r  """'"'  ™'' '"''" 
meet  an  old  acqualntattllu:!  tZ"^™".'  '" 

,  at  iTxr.  unnnell  s,  before  leaving  New  v«.i. 
When  we  were  together  last  if  wo      ^        Y  ^^^^- 
■«.!  Jung,.  of  Lu'zon,lt';  drbyTeVlT 
^^and  bamboo,  in  the  glowing  exL™  o^tl^t  ~ 


172 


VISIT    TO    PENNY. 


ble  exuberance :  here  we  are  met  once  more,  in  the 
stinted  region  of  lichen  and  mosses.  He  was  then  a 
junior,  under  Sir  Edward  Belcher :  I— what  I  am  yet. 
The  lights  and  shadows  of  a  naval  life  are  nowhere 
better,  and,  alas !  nowhere  worse  displayed,  than  in 
these  remote  accidental  greetings. 

"Returning,  I  paid  a  visit  to  Penny's  vessels,  and 
formed  a  very  agreeable  acquaintance,  with  the  med- 
ical  officer,  Dr.  R.  Anstruther  Goojsir,  a  brother  of  as- 
sistant  surgeon  Goodsir  of  Franklin's  flag-ship. 

"In  commemoration  of  the  gathering  of  the  search- 
ing  squadrons  within  the  little  cove  of  Beechy  Point, 
Commodore  Austin  has  named  it,  very  appropriately. 
Union  Bay.  It  is  here  the  Mary  is  deposited  as  an 
asylum  to  fall  back  upon  in  case  of  disaster. 

"  The  sun  is  traveling  rapidly  to  the  south,  so  that 
our  recently  glaring  midnight  is  now  a  twilight  gloom. 
The  coloring  over  the  hills  at  Point  Innes  this  even- 
ing was  sombre,  but  in  deep  reds;  and  the  sky  had  an 
inhospitable  coldness.  It  made  me  thoughtful  to  see 
the  long  shadows  stretching  out  upon  the  snow  toward 
the  isthmus  of  the  Graves. 

"  The  wind  is  from  the  nortli  and  westward,  and  the 
ice  is  so  driven  in  around  us  as  to  grate  and  groan 
against  the  sides  of  our  little  vessel.  The  masses, 
though  small,  are  very  thick,  and  by  the  surging  qf 
the  sea  have  been  rubbed  as  round  as  pebbles.  They 
make  an  abominable  noise." 

The  remaining  days  of  August  were  not  character, 
ized  by  any  incident  of  note.  We  had  the  same  al- 
ternations of  progress  and  retreat  through  the  ice  as 
before,  and  without  sensibly  advancing  toward  the 
western  shore,  which  it  was  now  our  object  to  reach. 
-  The  next  extracts  from  my  journal  are  of  the  date  oL 
September  3 


T  >.«-v 


ICE    DRIFTINO. 


173' 


ice,we  fi'nX'oL t;-;""'''"^'  "■  -°'''  '"e  loose 
and  began  be^ttol^'^  S^l'™''  T"  ^''^'' 
the  field.  Once  there,  wegot  iffr,'  ^-^f  """"^ 
eastern  shore  by  degrees  JT.'^    f '^'  ""'''"8  *••« 

coasts  of  Corn  JaSZd"'  W^Zr'"'"'::'^ 
seals— amonff  them  thp  Ph«     i  ^^^'  narwhals, 

is  sometimes  fourteen  feet  »r,H  Tk  ''f^P'^^i  tobies 
ff»and  and  distorted  byl;  rl^Lv"'""?''^  "«  «" 
that  they  rise  up  in  cn„.!  1 V       ^J*^'*'""  *''^*''«  Aoes, 

.hen.  fo^y  fee^hir  Tu  taut  :t?r  "^  "^ 
leading— a  life  of  finnsf«»+  ^         ^"^  ^®  are 

laniparty  than  the  Ufe  of  s4tard  ^^"^  "5  " 

^:lxt^^«-'---^ornrn^ 

were  fa^  with  three  anlrswCt^'f*'  ^' 
now.  though  the  wind  wt  Itilf  ft^    T"  ""*•  *"''   ^ 
and  therefore  in  ^liTn  t  thHrmXl'T''' 
masses  under  themon  nfih.  va  '         floating 

ward  trend  directh^!^,    ^"^^'^^  '*°^«  "^  ^  west- 

not  borne  ^^n'ZlteZssl^^^^^^  -- 

by  in  slowprocessiVm  f^T>.  1  '     "*'  ^  *^®y  went 


V;., 


N 


"ir^^    '^  •*»•*-. 


174 


MY  f;rst  be;,ar. 


"I  killed  to-'day  my  first  polar  bear.  We  mede  the  - 
animal  on  a  large  floe  to  the  northward  while  we  were 
sighting  the -western  shores  p/ Wellington,  and  of 
course  6ould  not  stop  to  shoot  bears.  But  he  took  to 
the  water  ahead  of  us.'ahd  came  so  near  that  we  fired 
at  him  from  the  bows  of  the  vessel.  Mr.  Lrfvell  and 
myself  fired  so  simultaneously,  that  ye  had  to  weigh 
the  ball  to  determine  which  Imd  hit.  My  bullet  stf  uck 
exactly  in  the  ear,  the  markThad  aimed  at,  for  h6  had, 
only  his  head  above  water.  Thg^young  ice  was  form- 
iiig  so  rapidly  around  us  that  it  was  hard  work  get- 
ting him  on  board.  I  was  onp  of  the  oarsmen,  and 
sweated  rarely,  vwith  the  thermometer  at  25°.  * 

'•  On  the  way  back  I  succeeded  in  hitting  an  enor- 
njtous  seal;  but,,muchto'-my  mortification,  he  sunk, 
after  floating  till  we^Sarly  reached  him. 

"Without  any  organization,  and  with  Very  little 
time  for  the  hunt,  the  Advance  now  counts  upon  her 
game  list  two  polar  bears,  three  seals,  a  ^single  goose, 
and  a  fair  table  allowance  of  loons,  divers,  and  snipes. 
The  Rescue  >oasts  of  four  bears,  and,  in  addition  to 
the  small  gAiiie,  a  couple  of  Arctic  hare^.  Our  solita. 
ry  goose  was  the  Anas  bernicla,  crowds  of  which  now 
begin  to  fly  over  the  land  and  ice  in  cu»oid  streams 
to  the  east-of  south.  It  ^93  killed  b^  Mr,  Murdaugh 
with  a  ri^e,  on  the  wii^  "^  'J 

"  |Iow  very  much  I  nSsg  my  good^home  assortment 
of  hnnting  materials !  We  have  not  a  decent  gun  on 
board ;  as  for  the  rifle  I  am  now  shooting,  it  is  a  flint- 
lock  concern,  and  half  the  time  hangs  fire."  ■ 

The  next  morning  found  me  at  work  skinning  my 
bear,  not  a  pleasatft  task  with  the  thermometer  below 
the  freezing  point.  He  was  a  noble  specimen,  larger 
than  the  largest  recorded  by  Parry,  measuring  eight 


■  ■  *-<./Mifl^*'' 


>..X:.:. 


MY    BEAR. 

feet  eight  ihches  and  three  quarters  froi'tin  t^ 
presented'the  skin  nn  ...        .        f  P  '* 

ertiy  of  Natural  S„'  '    ^^  '''""'"  *"»"«•  *»  'to 
■-Tl,!\.  ™'*""  Philadelphia     ■  \ 

llie  carcass  was  lamer  th«n  *i   »    I.  ^— 

fatted  for  market.     wfest,rf  H  k"*^  "".  "<""'">'  "^ 

.  ly  sixteen  hundrejCnU  -'T't''  uT*''*  ''^"^'■ 

id,indtheim,sclesnf,i,       '"''"""'*''«' ™'y  »9l- 

N     W^eloped.  ToZLfl       ""'■'"'' ''»"»* '■«''rf% 

■p«ct  of  the  Art^c  W  S     TT*^  ""«  '"''"rior  X 

mates  used  thfsi^otprs^"-  f"»^J^<^- 
iress  of  hirtack  and  ha-nchelwith^^  «-  ^nelN^nd. 
acter  of  the  lees  and  til        T         °  columnar  char- 

give  you  Atrl^rr    ''T'"'""^' (<-' 
plantigrade  ba^'^f  » 1  "f  ?  "'T"  »'«?''«'•    The 

course  are  excluded  from  ^he  SpSn""'  "*"^^ 

'  wi'hn\';rarl^r^tr;rTr^r-''«^'^"  --"'". 

a  few  miles  ftom  Can/R^J  \  .^''"  '"'"'  ''  ''»*. 

charts  as  a  mere  inter'^^'^Ai' '"' "  '"'"''«'  o"  ""S 

weatfier  to  sight  so  aronrof  T  "^T^?  ."">"  wvofing 
He  was  .-pracle'ed  hX^Lr  "^""''"^'  •»™- 

pcntus'^r  ";.S  r;"  rf  ''''■  '■-"""•^  ^'- 

which  is  the  enCce./  1™'  <'«?'adation,  between 

The  momentl    mtl^    T-'!'  f"  """"'''<'• 
these  clifls  a  oii.^!    ™'f' «"'"^''  *«  shadow'of 

ed  ice  and  ,ft    ^'^  ''  °"  ''"y  '"'9  *»■«  newly.form. 

ft"idii^;xt?sr7'°  "f  *'P''''»X . . 

■funded  by  hSXummA     "^'""^  "^ '''"''  Ao^,  ««- 
1   uing  Diank,  repulsive  sterility.  . 


176 


>^  EXPLORING. 


"September  6.  The  captain,  Mr.Murdaugh,  Mr.  Car- 
ter,  and  myself  started  on  a  walk  of  exploration.  The 
distance  hetween  the  brig  and  the  shore  is  not  over 
three  hundred  yards,  but  the  travel  was  arduous.  The 
ice  was  eight  and  ten  feet  thick,  studded  with  broken 

s  bergs  and  hummocks.  These  fragments  were  seldom 
larger  than  our  Rensselaer  dining-r^oom,  some  twenty 
feet  square,  and,  owing  either  to  the  rise  and  fall  of  the 
tides  or  the  piling  action  of  storms,  deep  crevices  were 
formed  around  their  edges,^  partially,  masked  by  the 
snow  which  had  found  its  way  into  them,  and  by  an 
icy  crust  over  the  surface.  Alternately  jumping  these 
crevices  and  clambering  up  the  hummocks  between ' 
them  made  it  a  dangerous  walk.  We  had  some  nar- 
row  escapes.  Reaching  the  shore,  we  pushed  forward 
about  a.  mile  and  a  quarter  to  the  head  of  the  inlet, 
and  then  crossed  over  on  the  ice  to  a  cairn-  that  stood 
near  it.  We  foundaipthing  but  a  communication  from 
Captain  Ommanney,  whose  vessels  we  saw  as  we  en- 
tered the  lead  yesiterday,  informing  the  Secretary  of 
the  Admiralty  that  he  had  been  off  this  place  since  the 
24th,  and  that  *  no  traces  are  to  be  found  on  Cornwal- 
lis  Island  of  the  party  under  Sir  John  Franklin' — a 
somewhat  too  confident  assertion  perhaps,  seeing  that 
the  island,  if  it  be  one,  is  more  thfitn  fifty  miles  across, 
and  that  the  observations  can  haidly  have  extended 
beyond  the  coast  line,  , 

"September  7.  The  spot  at  which  we  have  been  ly- 
ing is  in  front  of  Barlow's  Inlet.  There  is  no  barrier 
between  it  and  our  vessels  but  the^young  ice,  which 
has  now  attained  a  thickness  of  three  inches.  On  the 
east  we  have  the  drift  plain  of  Wellington  Channel, 
impacted  with  floes,  hummocks, and  broken  bergs;  and 

-teethe  «euth  we  loet  out  upea  a  wild  a^^egation^t " 


'f  -^ 


jes  were 


s  we  en- 


enormous  hummocks     Th       k 

to  have  been  so  disinteomt^j  t.^1  ^'  "™y  *««"» 
that  raised  them  a  toT  ,  'l"'"  """flicting  forces 
acter  of  tables,     irhothel^  '"'*  "'.'"^^"'br  the  char. 

ed ^ugar  had  been  eZedlT  \°^'''^  "^"'"^i^'' 
in  one  fUe,  a»d  tw„?tee  IbCw  "'  '^^  "'  '^'^ 
the  summit  bf  these  irres-uL  bf        ' '"  ^'"'^^^'-  ""d 
with  a  succession  oSL  o^^^'*"™  covkedover 
themselves  multipliaA^n„L"°'^'.™''  ""^  '""'?' 


c«.wdedtogetre;rnlSCrd""t'^  *'«'»''»'*"y.  "nd 
look  a  good  deal  li^eT^"'  P?'"»'"=.  ^ey  would 

tyyards  southof  „r  TheseTft ''''''  ^'»"''  *^-'»- 
chored,  solid  hills  risil  th^l    ?' ""^'*'  »"  ^l'«n- 

*»-  bottom  twe„'j;;rtr^::  f  ™  *«  ■'-^• 

the  north  of  us     ■^k  '        f '.'^  ™''''  "^^  "oe  to 

-ed  as  a„  ah„  Je''  fS't^d*!  t  ""''•  -'^'"' 
of  cape  outside  of  our  nositin'n  V  /''/°™"'^  "  ^Of 
»hoe  sweep  to  the  nortWaH  '  "T"^^  *"''  "  ^-"^ 
tho  eye  could  re«h  f„ll„  Tj"  ^^^'"^i.  «s  far  m 
It  formed,  of  co^'/" "r  J.?8?''«  *'»'!  of  the  sho^ 

doroAustL.Vve'Ss^Zrmad'rtrrt    """""'■ 
tance  to  the  north  and  east  of  us  '*  """"  "'^ 

of  th?:th:rr:it:'er"  "r-"  *»  -'^  ■»--« 

twenty-four  honrs   ?fll  ^ted  wf''    *""  *'"'  "o^* 
but  at  6  A.M  of  the  fitfc    r     "^tween  -33  and  -37 ; 

P-M.  of  the  7th,  it^  was  at  Ih'  ""'^  *^"  "  ^^««« 

30-68.     At  2  P.M  thi  winJ  h  !,  "T""*'^  ^^^^^t  of 
^^J^ JJ^aiid  wLf    ^      ^^  ^^^"Sred  from  ."g'.jS  R 

-^^aiid  went  on  increasing  to  a  gale       ^'^^"^^ 


^l*"' 


0 


i 

i 

■J 


178 


ICE    FORMING. 


"We  were  seated  cosily  around  our  little  table  in 
the  cabin,  imagining  our  harbor  of  land  ice  perfectly 
secure,  when  we  were  startled  by  a  crash.    We  rush- 
ed  on  deck  just  in  time  to  see  the  solid  floe  to  wind- 
ward part  in  the  middle,  liberate  itself  from  its  attach- 
ment to  the  shore,  and  bear  down  upon  us  with  the 
full  energy  of  the  storm.     Our  lee  bristled  ominously 
half  a  ship's  length  from  us,  and  to  the  east  was  the 
main   drift.     The  Rescue  was  first  caught,  nipped 
astern,  and  lifted  bodily  out  of  water;  fortunately,  she 
withstood  the  pressure,  and  rising  till  she  snapped  her 
cable,  launched  ^nto  open  water,  crushing  the  young 
ice  before  her.     The  Advance,  by  hard  warping,  drew 
a  little  closer  to  the  cove ;  and,  a  moment  after,  the  ice 
drove  by,  just  clearing  our  stern.   Commodore  Austin's 
vessels  were  imprisoned  in  the  moving  fragments,  and 
carried  helplessly  past  us.     In  a  very  little  while  they 
were  some  four  miles  off." 

The  summer  was  now  leaving  us  rapidly.  The 
thermometer  had  been  at  21°  and  23°  for  several  nights, 
and  scarcely  rose  above  32°  in  the  daytime.  Our  lit- 
tle harbor  at  Barlow's  Inlet  was  completely  blocked 
in  by  heavy  masses ;  the  new  ice  gave  plenty  of  sport 
to  the  skaters ;  but  on  shipboard  it  vfas  uncomfortably 
cold.  As  yet  we  had  no  fires  below;  and,  after  draw- 
ing around  me  the  India-rubber  curtains  of  my  berth, 
with  my  lamp  burning  inside,  I  frequently  wrote  my 
journal  in  a  freezing  temperature.  "This  is  not  very 
cold,  no  doubt"— I  quote  from  an  entry  of  the  8th— 
"  not  very  cold  to  your  forty-five  minus  men  of  Arctic 
winters;  but  to  us  poor  devils  from  the  zone  of  the 
liriodendrons  and  peaches,  it  is  rather  cool  for  the 
September  month  of  water-melons.  My  bear  with  his 
=afsenic  swabs  is  a  solid  lamprand  some  birds  tluit 


RENDEZVOUS. 


179 


-  wa.t.„g  to  be  .Unned  a.  aMu*e,y  ,,M  witi. 

wik,  an  htrdei  tiS  r  «*•  -"  -"*  *» 

ice  and  tow  it  out  inMhl  „t»nt'  ""'."."  *'"'  ^""^ 
carried  it  rapidly  to  ti:Zk.''wZ^^''''>  "'"* 
this  manner  a  space  of  some  forfv  "^  ^  «^  away  in 
five  the  next  morning  weTe  Zt^  Tfl "'™''«'  "^  «* 
under  weigh.  We  4IZt  c^  „  .'f  "^'"^  "S"'" 
fasUime  on  the  9th,  ZdTlZ  '^"^  '">'  '''»''■ 
».  t?  the  west  i„  L;„t^;Vs'';:f  ™-  *^"  "-'■ 

.oun?rarr  r:t  r  ^'^  *«  -  ■■  *"« 

kludge  and  to^-AeJ";  Lm^l.  "  f.™""  ^^^  "f 
the  pack,  a  distance  oTlt  lel^  I  "T*""  "«'"'  '» 
>ni"gled  with  the  drift  fl™!/  '*","''«^-  This  was 
»el;  and  in  them  steam!^  ""  ^'"'"gton  Chan- 
Kesolnte  and  PW  ThVS""'"''''."^^"'  *"« 
jet,  but  for  the  new  ice  there  "'f  ^""^  *'""«'; 

^st.  What,  then  was'our  .^  T«  "  °''""'  '^  *»  ^he 
o«r  paclc-bound  neiJLT  1'"°""™'  '''^*-  *"  ^«e 
prison  and  steam  ahe^ltdlnt™-'-^  '""^  """' 
next,  to  be  overhauled  by  Pe„'"   J  7'"'' V^''  »"''' 

Ihe  shores  a  ong  which  w«  .r. 

same  configuration  with  tbfjr/u.'^'"*^  "«  "fthe 
feland;  the  cliffs  hlwl  *° '""^  ^-^t  "^B^echy 

Wnff  a^peltf'isrr/'^  "°*  '^  ^'^^'  •"«<  *heir 
a»d  shhfgle  Ch     The  ,1  r""""""'5'  ''y  ''"'^es 

**"**  »■""*''«>  O'  Hudson.    Thereto  ~~ 


180 


RENDEZVOUS. 


getting  out  of  it,  for  the  shore  is  on  one  side  and  the 
fixed  ice  close  on  the  other.  All  have  the  lead  of  us, 
and  we  are  working  only  to  save  a  distance.  Omman- 
ney  must  be  near  Melville  by  this  time:  pleasant, 

very !  x  i.        j.v, 

"Closing  memoranda  for  the  day:  1.  I  have  the 
rheumatism  in  my  knees;  2.  I  left  a  bag  contaming 
my  dress  suit  of  uniforms,  and,  what  is  worse,  my  wm- 
ter  suit  of  furs,  and  with  them  my  4ouble.barrel  gun, 
on  board  Austin's  vessel.  The  gale  of  the  7th  has 
carried  him  and  them  out  of  sight. 

«  September  10.  Un&Ccountable,  most  unaccounta- 
ble,  the  caprices  of  this  ice-locked  region!  Here  we 
are  again  all  together,  even  Ommanney  with  the  rest. 
The  Resolute,  Intrepid,  Assistance,  Pioneer,  Lady 
Franklin,  Sophia,  Advance,  and  Rescue ;  Austin,  Om- 
manney.  Penny,  and  De  Harden,  all  anchored  torthe 
♦  fast'  off  Griffith's  Island.  The  way  to  the  west  com- 
pletely  shut  out." 


..J.. .«»-.- 


^t^- 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 
relate  to  the  furthest  S  o^^  '1 1"  w''"'^ 

r-  """""'•:  "■"'  -■»«  of  the  topic  wMch  ZvTr 

brace  may  perhaps  invite  that  «>rf    r     T       ^ 
is  best  furnished  V  a  oo^ntXlT^"'"'*  *"" 

"S^«m.4«- 11, Wednesday    Snow  li-htanrf fl 
hTcTht"  '  T^  """•  r'"  "  "»"  «^heT"toTi 

leakers  aSd  b«ldit     CL^tif  1 ''°'^r"  *'"' 
fined  ice  nff  r.iZZ   t  ,    ^      *^  "^""K  ^^e  of  the 

within  three  hundred  yaxds  of  us.    Penny  like  an  in 

:^:rn^h;^reitH^"'^'f- 

"  September  12,  Thursday.    We  hav.  h.A 
night.    About  4PM  th.  i.  """  *  ""'g'' 

era!  onr  hV  i     T     '  ,    ''**^  ^'"'»'  ^Uoh  had  oov- 

the  excentiZ  „f  P "  °  squadron  of  search,  with 

to  thSioe  tuhe""  f'^"*  "^  '""'"'"''»- 
-*hle  J^^oite^*^le»i»'?«•^'^^u«^e  us  i,^ 


'  rf. 


.:te«....j...... 


A    GALE. 

it  three  the  Rescue  parted  her  cable's  hold,  and 
was  carried  out  to  sea,  leaving  two  men,  her  boat,  and 
her  anchors  behind.  We  snapped  our  stern-cable,  lost 
our  anchor,  swung  out,  but  fortunately  held  by  the 
forward  line.  All  the  English  vessels  were  in  similar 
peril,  the  Pioneer  being  at  one  time  actually  free  ;  and 
Commodore  Austin,  who  in  the  Resolute  occupied  the 
head  of  the  line,  was  in  momentary  fear  of  coming 
down  upon  us.  Altogethei:  I  have  seldom  seen  a  night 
of  greater  trial.  The  wind  roared  over  the  snow  floes, 
and  every  thing  about  the  vessel  froze  into  heavy  ice 
stalactites.  Udd  the  main  floe  parted,  we  had  been 
carried  down  with  the  liberated  ice.  Fortunately,  ev- 
ery  thing  held ;  and  here  we  are,  safe  and  sound.  The 
Rescue  was  last  seen  beating  to  windward  against  the 
gJtle,  probably  seeking  a  lee  under  Griffith's  Island. 
This  morning  the  snow  continues  in  the  form  of  a  fine 
cutting  drift,  the  water,  freezes  wherever  it  touches, 
and  the  thermometer  has  been  at  no  time  above  17°. 
"September  12,  10  P.M.  Just  from  deck.  How  very 
dismal  every  thing  seems !  The  snow  is  driven  like 
sand  upon  a  level  reach,  lifted  up  in  long  curve  lines, 
and  then  obscuring  the  atmosphere  with  a  white  dark- 
ness. The  wind,  too,  is  howling  in  a  shrill  minor, 
singing  across  the  hummock  ridges.  The  eight  ves- 
sels are  no  longer  here.  The  Rescue  is  driven  out  to 
sea,  and  poor  Penny  is  probably  to  the  southward. 
Five  black  masses,  however,  their  cordage  defined  by 
rime  and  snow,  are  seen  with  their  snouts  shoved  into 
the  shore  of  ice :  cables,  chains,  and  anchors  are  cov- 
ered feet  below  the  drift,  and  the  ships  adhere  mys- 
teriously, their  tackle  completely  invisible.  Should 
any  of  us  break  away,  the  gale  would  carry  us  into 
^streams  of  heavy  floating  ice;  and  our  running  rig^ 


r 


•THE    GALE. 


183 


// 


ging  is  so  coated  with'ioicles  a^s  +/>  «,  i     -x  • 

of  tht'iitr„rrvr„:  sr "-'  ^™'  *»  ^-'^^ 

out  from  tha  fl/  "   ,  ®"^®"*  o*  *««  waves,  stretching 

■tWaid't'/r''"^"''^'"^*"'™''-    The  gale     • 
ward  Tndlt  i,    ^     !  fu'  '"  "P""  "^  *■«"»  ""e  east. 

W^,  God'IrtCtr  h  ""  "'  "^  '"^^ 
«*ng  obaemtions  '  '"'™  "°  """'"^  "f 

at'S^titL?*"-  S'"""'™  -"king,  that 
getting  ulrtlhTh^  *>?«  ^'l'""'"'"  commenced 


«'--.tHeha.-thMedT:ss^,:r 


.-^'' 


V 


(^ 


184 


FOR  Griffith's  island. 


t 


hauled  in ;  the  steamers  steag(i^4|^^.d  off  went  the 
rest  of  us  as  we  might.  TJiis  Step*  was  not  taken  a 
whit  too  soon,  if  it  be  ordained  that  we  are  yet  in 
time ;  for  the  stream-ice  covers  the  entire  horizon,  and 
the  hirge  floe  or  main  which  we  have  deserted  is  bare, 
iy  separated  from  the  drifting  masses.  The  Rescue  is 
now  the  object  of  pur  search.  Could  she  be  found, 
the  captain  has  determined  to  turn  his  steps  home- 
ward. 

"11  20  A.M.  We  are  working,  i.  e-,  beating  our  way 
in  the  narrow  leads  intervening  irregularly  between 
the  main  ice  and  the  drift.  We.  have  gained  at  least 
two  miles  to  windward  of  Austin^s  squadron,  who  are 
unable,  in  spite  of  steamers,  to  move  along  these  dan- 
gerous passages  lik«  ourselves.  Our  object  is  to  reach 
Griffith's  Island,  frofli  which  we  have  drifted  some  fif- 
teen miles  with  the  main  ice,  and  then  look  out  for 
our' lost  consort. 

"  The  lowest  temperature  last  night  was  +5°,  but 
the  wind  makes  it  colder  to  sensation.  We  are  grind- 
ing  through  newly-formed  ice  three  inches  thick ;  the 
perfect  consolidation  being  prevented  by  its  motion  and 
the  wind.  Even  in  the  little  fireless  cabin  in  which 
i  now  write,  water  and  coffee  are  freezing,  and  the 
mercury  stands  at  29°.  ^ 

"  The  navigation  is  certainly  exciting.  I  have  nev- 
t)T  seen  a  description  in  my  Arctic  readings  of,any 
ihing  like  this.  We  are  literally  running  for  our  lives, 
Surrounded  by  the  inmiinent  hazards  of  sudden  con- 
Solidation  in  an  open  sea.  All  minor  perils,  nips, 
bumps,  and  sunken  bergs  are  discarded ;  we  are  stag- 
gering along  under  all  sail,  forcing  Our  way  while  we 
cab.  One  thump,  received  since  I  commenced  writ- 
=4ng,  jerked  iAie  time-keeper  from  ^ur  binnacle  down 


.M 


OBOEB    FOB    BETORN. 


185 


the  eabm  hatch  and,  but  for  our  strong  bows  seven 
and  a  half  sohd  feet,  would  have  stove  us  in.    An„7h 
er  fme,  we  c  eared  a  tongue  of  the  main  pack  by  r  d' 
™f  hfr?.    T^^'  '"""'■    Commodore  Anstfn  seems' 

4  l.M.  We  contmued  beatine  toward  ftrM.i,' 
,       Island,  till,  by  douUing  a  tongue  of  it^e  .™: 
to  force  our  way.  ^The  English  seemei  to  watoh  our 
movements,  and  almost  to  follow  in  our  wake  tin  Z 

Washmgton  Square,  where  we  stood  off  and  on  the 
CO  bemg  too  close  upon  the  eastern  end  of  Griffith's 
ihnd  to  permit  us  to  pass.     Our  companions   ntM 
httle  vacancy  were  Captain  Ommanney's  Assistance 

er  the  Intrepid.  Commodore  Austin's  vessel  was  t» 
the  on  hward  entangled  in  the  moving  ice,  but  L^ 
mentanly  nearing  the  open  leads 

"While  thus  boxing  about  on  one  of  our  tacks  we 
neared  the  north  edge  of  our  little  opening  ^ilZl 
hmled  by  the  Assistance  with  the  gM  intfhigencTof  ■ 
the  E  scue  close  under  the  island.     Our  captain,  who 
was  a  his  usual  post,  conning  the  ship  from  the  fl«,!  ' 
t^p^aU  yard,  made  her  out  at  the  same  time,  and  im- 
mediately  determined  upon  boring  the  intervening  c" 

mocRs  nobly.  Strange  to  say,  the  English  vessels 
now  joined  by  Austin,  followed  in  our  wlk^Tot' 
phment,  certainly,  to  De  Haven's  ice-mastership 

to  tZV""  Z  T"''  "'""^'''  *■«">  ^'8»«1  ^««  made 
to  the  Rescue  to  •  cast  off,'  and  our  ensign  was  run 

up  from  the  peak,  the  captain  Had  determ"u7uZ 
attemptmg  a  return  t»  the  United  States" 
JiMld  not  be  my  office  to  discuss  the  jwaqr^a' 

J8 


\ 


1«6 


THE    RESCUE    NIPPE1». 


this  step,  even  if  the  question  were  one  of  policy  alone. 
But  it  was  one  of  instractions.     The  Navy  Depart- 
ment, imitating  in  this  the  English  Board  of  Admiral- 
ty  had,  in  its  orders  to  our  commander,  marked  out  to 
hi!n  "the  course  of  the  expedition,  and  had  enjoined 
that,  unless  under  special  circumstances,  he  should 
"  endeavor  not  to  be  caught  in  the  ice  during  the  win- 
ter, but  that  he  should,  after  completing  his  examma- 
tions  for  the  season,  make  his  escape,  and  return  to 
New  York  in  the  fall."     In  the  judgment  of  Commo- 
dore De  Haven,  these  special  circumsta^es  did  not 
exist ;  and  he  felt  himself,  therefore,  controlled  by  the 
gener'al  terms  of  the  injunction.     I  believe  that  there 
was  but  one  feeling  among  the  officers  of  our  little 
squadron,  that  of  unmitigated  regret  that  we  were  no 
longer  to  co-operate  with  our  gallant  associates  undfer 
the  sister  flag.     Our  intercourse  with  them  had  been 
most  cordial  from  the  very  first..  We  had  interchanged, 
many  courtesies,  and  I  should  be  sorry  to  think  that 
there  had  not  been  formed  on  both  sides  some  endur- 
ing  friendships. 

In  a  little  while  we  had  the  Rescue  in  tow,  and. 
were  heading  to  the  east.  She  had  had  a  fearful  night 
of  it  after  kavkig  us.  She  beat  about,  short-handed, 
clogged  With  ice,  and  with  the  thermometer  at  8\ 
The  snoVfell  heavily,  and  the  rigging  was  a  solid,  al- 
most  unmanageable  lump.  Steering,  or  rather  beat- 
ing she  made,  on  the  evening  of  the  12th,  the  feouthem 
edge  of  Griffith's  island,  and  by  good  luck  and  excel- 
lent management  succeeded  in  holding  to  the  land 
hummocks.  She  had  split  her  rudder-p^t  so  as  to 
make  hexMnworkable,  and  now  we  hav€her  m  tow. 
An  anchor  with  its  fluke  snapped— her  best  bower ; 
and  her  little  boat,  stove  in  by  the  ice,  was  cut  adrift: 


All 


^v>^ 


ILLUSION. 


187 

gallant  brethren  soon  lost  th.^  ,  "**"*''  ""^  ■"« 

we  steered  our  Zl  Witt  .  r  T 1."  *''"  """'•  *"» 
Hotham.  ™"™  *'*■"■  .fi«sh  breeze  for  Cape  "3 

■       M^tr  Z/ZtJ^'^r  "'  T*  '•"-«»  Capes 
of  tbe  coast  line  atej'  «ix  miles  off    o^°\    "  P™"* 

-ho  w^  half  undres:!  Z  ZZZ  ■  anSt"'"' 
.mm.„g„ith  the  glass,  saw  a  thTrnWch  De  h"'  "'■ 
after  a  look   ponfirmo^  x        '  ^"^^'*  ^e  Haven, 

FeUx'ofdd  s'thn     "^  "  '"'''''"  '"'^'X"'"'  'The 

speak  them.  m,e  fl  t  '■"'^'■'  *"*  P"''*!^  «» 
Still  we  sW  on  Lt^T"''  t'"''  "''"'"'^  '^em. 
««.he  .^Z  o^rr^S,;  'St^aT^'  "T 
"...ess  than  three  niUesf^  n^iltt:^       \ 

wsagreemenf      Ac.  «!.>•  i         t  mere  was  no 


«««  ttiose  briffs^nf  m^^  "u^  *""  *^^^«  betters  didir 
brigs,  and  althbugh  we  supposed  the  Lady 


s 


f 


188 


ICE    THICKENING. 


k 


Franklin  and  Sophia  to  be  ice-caught  at  or  toward 
Cape  Walker,  I  did  not  hisitate  to  name  them  as  the 
vessels  before  us.     Ten  minutes  of  obscurity,  we  m\ 
ing  directly  toward  them,  a  sudden  interval  of  ^ri| 
ness^ — and  they  had  parsed  away. 

"  Some  large  hummocks  of  grount^ed^cej^  neat 
them,  and  we  try  to  convince  ourselves  thmlfsffy  may 
have  been  closed  in  by  changes  in  oUr  relative- posi- • 
tions ;  but  this  is  hard  to  believe,  for  we  should  have 
seen  their  upper  spars  above  the  ice,  I  gazed  long  and 
attentively  with  our  Frajinhofer  telescope,  at  three 
miles'  distance;  but  saw  absolutely  no  semblance  of 
what  a  few  minutes  before  was  so  apparent." 

We  were  obliged  several  times  the  next  day  to  bore 
throiMtfithe  young  ice  ;  for  the  low  temperature  cori- 
tinu^^and  our  wind  lulled  under  Cape  Hotham. 
The  night  gave  us  now  three  hours  of  complete  dark'- 
ness.'  It  was  danger  to  run  on,  yet  equally  danger  to 
pause.  Grim  winter  was.  following  close  upon  our 
heels ;  and  evbn  the  captain,  sanguine  and  fearless. in 
emergency  as  he  always  proved  himself,  as  he  saw 
the  tenacious  fields  of  sludge  ahd  pancake  thickening 
around  us,  began  to  feel  anxioiis.  Mine  was  a  jum- 
ble  of  sensations.  I  haM|^|^esirous  to  the  last  de- 
gree ti|pit  we  might  ^en^^H^^field  of||u;ch,aD^ 
could  hardly  be  dissatijMHpV^^  pronflWto  real- 
ize nly  wish.  Yet.  I  hadSped  that  our  wintering 
would  be  near  our  English  friends,  that  in  case  of 
trouble  or  disease  we  might  mutually  sustain  each 
other.  But  the  interval  of  fifty  miles  betv^een  us,  in  .^l 
Hhese  inhospitable  deserts,  was  as  cdmplete  a  separa-  ^ 
Jq^  as  an  entire  continent ;  and  I  confess  t^^at  I  look- 1 
ed  at  the  dark  shadows  closing  around  Barlow's  Inlet, 
^e  prison  from  which  we  eut  ourselves  on  the  sev^ntbr-i 


PARTIAL    OPENINd, 


189 


like  the  grinding  „f  J„M  formZ^ttor  wj"  tt 
slushy  scrapmg  of  sluAe.     We  mav  mZ 
,      J»r,  in  the  skating  froHcs  of  eLH        .u""  ™"*'"- 
reverberating  ontcfv  of  ,  ,^hM    ^      '"'  ""  P»''""«f 
us  along  the  eS„f  an'T,  l'"'*-.?.*'  '"'^^'^  "  '■«>"> 

a  tone  a,,tM,,  combined  w  h  the'whir  Sr"""" 
..on.  and  the  rapping  „oise  of  c  ose-^:^  ^  "^  '»°- 
was  listening  to  the  sound  in  jnv  UmTi  ^T  ^ 
sorrowful  Jay,  close  uponzero  tZi  tn  "'  *'*"  * 
•  stiffened  limbs.  Presently  ir^rfes^  tl^  "'  ""^ 
ed,  then  stopped,  then  went  on'^Iii  but  j^C^^^^ 

.  aT^t^rnr™  "  --^•-^  -neWred' 

oaX:3arfroTi';-'"''o''''"\*'''' '™  >- 

once.    As  I  reached  the  deck  ,?^  "'",'  "^  '^'^  "* 

;;io^.getiif,a„dthes:srst:t',^^rd''pur„gtrh 
li  ricr2rmred':"r\*°.'''''«  *«  ^-'t 

American  "pXn  t  seCh^fs'TY'''''^"^  *''* 
.imb^ded  in  its  cent™     Th  ^*"  ^'■'"'''"" 

ZZk,  ^  f^"^"^^^  "=°"»«'=*«d  with  it,  gave  us  am 

,weretn.::itr:tn:'^orar'*f 


:^^^=-^=X-^.^-^^ 


% 


190 


THE    BALLOON. 


aroiind  to  the  westward.    With  a  strong  northwester, 
there  might  still  be  a  hope  for  us. 

"  This  afternoon,  at  6h.  20m.,  a  large  spheroidal  mass 

was  seen  floating  in  the  air  at  an  unknown  distance 

to  the  jiorth.     It  undulated  for  a  while  over  the  ice- 

lined  horizon  of  Wellington  Channel ;  and  after  a  lit- 

tie  while,  another,  smaUer  than  the  first,  became  vis- 

ible  a  short  distance  below  it.     They  receded  with 

the  wind  from  the  southward  and  eastward,  but  did 

not  disappear  for  some  time.     Captain  De  Haven  at 

first  thought  it  a  kite ;  but,  independently  of  the  dif- 

ficulty  lof  imagining  a  kite  flying  without  a  master, 

and  where  no  master  could  be,  its  outUne  and  move- 

ment  convinced  me  it  was  a  balloon.     The  Resolute 

dispatched  a  courier  balloon  on  the  2d ;  but  that  could 

never  have  survived  the  storms  of  the  past  week.    I 

therefore  suppose  it  must  have  been  sent  up  by  some 

English  vifessel  to  the  west  of  us. 

M  make  a  formal  note  of  this  circumstance,  trivial 
as  it  may  Bfe ;  for  at  first  Franklin  rose  to  my  mind, 
as  possibly  signalizing  up  WelUngtpn  Channel." 

Cape  Hotham  was  at  this  time  yearly  in  range,  from 
our  position,  with  the  first  headlafid  to  the  west  of  it; 
and  our  captain  estimated  that  we  were  about  thirty 
miles  from  the  eastern  side  of  the  strait.  The  balloon 
was  to  leeward,  nearly  due  north  of  us,  more  so  than 
could  be  referred  to  the  course  of  the  wind  as  we  ob- 
served  it,  supposing  it  to  have  set  out  from  any  vessel 
of  whose  place  we  were  aware.  It  appeared  to  me, 
the  principal  one,  about  two  feet  long  by  eighteen 
inches  broad;  its  appendage  larger  than  an  ordinary 
dinner-plate.  The  incident  interested  us  much  at  the 
time,  and  I  have  not  seen  any  thing  in  the  pubhshed 
--joamate^  &e  Efigli^  seaofchers  that  explains  it^ 


*ir 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Phe  region,  which  ten  days  before  wn«  +        • 

b":r„„t""'  fr^^  "»-  almost  Wed"  wHaw' 
but  one  narwhal  and  a  few  sfifll      tk    t         "'e  saw 

a  soUta^  traveler,  oeetatLTy'^fli  J^^™':  ^  J  t"' 

«ea»„  had  evidently  wrought  its  ch^e      '         "" 

fi*k»   T  1      ,  atiacnea  to  the  mam  ioo  nff  r^e 

incident,  had  vanished  ^  ^^'^  *°^ 

of  moisture  had  been  excSe    thJ^    ^"l^"/^*^^" 

mist.    The  temperature  had  been  beJow  i\..  "^^']^S 
point  for  a  week  beforo      TV,,  i  ^  freezmg 


ifad  vitivL.  f..  ~.r    ■         -    more  than  a  few  hvin- 
^<tei^»rd^*,m  the  shfp.    This  little  area  «maS 


192 


DRIFT     UT»,    CHANNEL. 


fast  bound,  the  ice  bearing  us  readily,  though  a  very 
slight  motion  against  the  sides  of  the  vessel  seemed  to 
show  that  it  was  not  perfectly  attached  to  the  shores. 
But  as  I  stood  on  deck  in  the  afternoon  of  the  16th, 
watching  the  coast  to  the  east  of  us,  as  the  clouds 
cleared  away  for  the  first  time,  it  struck  me  that  its 
configuration  was  unknown  to  me.  By-and-by,  Cape 
Beechy,  the  isthmus  of  the  Graves,  loomed  ^  and 
we  then  found  that  we  were  a  little  to  the  ^olfth  of 

Cape  Bowden.  *  *r*  ^  * 

The  next  two  days  this  northward  drift  cdhtinued 
without  remission.  The  wind  blew  strong  from  the 
southward  and  eastward,  sometimes  approaching  to  a 
gale  ;  but  the  ice-pack  around  us  retained  its  tenacity, 
and  increased  rapidly  in  thickness. 

Yet  every  now  and  then  we  could  see  that  at  some 
short  distance' it  was  broken  by  small  pools  of  water, 
which  would  be  effaced  again,  soon  after  they  were 
formed,  by  an  external  pressure.  At  these  times  our 
vessels  underwent  a  nipping  on  a  small  scale.  The 
smoother  ice-field  that  held  us  would  be  driven  in,  pil- 
ing itself  in  miniature  hummocks  about  us,  sometimes 
higher  than  our  decks,  and  much  too  near  them  to 
leave  us  a  sense  of  security  against  their  further  ad- 
vance. The  noises,  too,  of  whining  puppies  and  swarm- 
ing bees  made  part  of  these  demonstrations,  much  as 
when  the  heavier  masses  were  at  work,  but  shriller 
perhaps,  and  more  clamorous. 

I  was  aroused  at  midnight  of  the  16th  by  one  of 
these  onsets  of  the  enemy,  crunching  and  creaking 
against  the  ship's  sides  till  the  masses  ground  them- 
selves to  powder.  Our  vessel  was  trembling  like  an 
ague-fit  under  the  pressure ;  and  when  so  pinched  that 
-jfihe  could  not  vibrate  any  longer  between  the  driving 


■iditl-,,  . 


UP    WELLINGTON    CHANNEL.  I93 

inches  thick,  kept  crowding  uZ^^.wir  """  *'." 

.  energy;  and  the  whole  of  the  ml.  ""f""' 

succession  of  conflicts  with  it  "^  ^'^'^  ™  " 

.iil  4  reached"  SL"  o  ^Xlir  "^Th^^ 
contmued  through  the  day,  sonxeul:?  -ullilgTa 
while  into  comparative  repose  b„t  r^     -^  . 
few  minutea  ofpartiaJ  Srmis^t      whif  "l       " 

r.ice"asiiSrS^"?F 

Virginia  meadows  ' '  '  '^^  ^^^"^^^  «^*^« 

ernous  recess  nf  i"+o  «i,-<r    ^i.      ,       ^""esione,  the  cav- 


■         ,    "^  ^»».j,.reinemDered  fee  ng  of  nai*,      d_^ 
^m  we  shonld  an  ^1.ave  he1„l^fl„?^ 


194. 


DISCpVERIES. 


along  in  hopeless  isolation,  to  find  a  way  open  to  its 
grim  but  protecting  barriers. 

I  return  to  my  journal. 

''September  19,  Thursday.  About  five  o'clock  this 

morning  the  wind  set  in  from  the  northward  and  east- 

ward ;  but  the  ice  was  tightly  compacted,  and  for  a 

while  did  not  budge.    Presently,  however,  we  could 

see  tjie  water-pools  extending  their  irregular  margins. 

Ahead  of  us,  that  is,  still  farther  to  the  north,  was  ice 

apparently  more  solid  than  the  ten-inch  field  around 

us.    It  shot  up  into  larger  hummocks  and  heavier 

masses,  and  was  evidently  thicker  and  more  perma- 

nent.    It  had  been  for  the  past  two  days  not  more  than 

fifty  yards  ahead,  and  we  called  it  in  the  log  the  '  fixed 

ice.'     By  breakfast -time  this  opened  into  two  long 

pools  on  our  right,  and  one  on  the  left,  which  seemed 

to  extend  pretty  well  toward  the  western  shore.    It 

was  evident  that  we  were  now  drifting  to  the  south- 

ward  again. 

"  The  sun,  so  long  obscured,  gave  us  to-day  a  rough 
meridian  altitude.  ]Nfurdaugh,  always  active  and  ef- 
ficient, had  his  artificial  horizon  ready  upon  the  ice, 
and  gave  us  an  approximate  latitude.  We  were  in 
75°  20'  11 '  north.  A  large  cape  and  several  smaller 
headlands  were  seen,  together  with  apparently  an  in- 
let or  harbor,  all  on  the  western  side.  They  remain 
unchristened.  From  our  mast-head,  no  positive  land 
was  visible  to  the  north.  Tides  we  have  not  had  the 
.  means  of  observing.  Our  soundings  on  the  17th  gave 
us  bottom  at  110  fathoms,  nearly  in  mid-channel. 

''September  19, 11  20  P.M.  The  wind  continued  all 

day  from  the  northward  and  westward,  freshening 

gradually  to  a  gale.    The  barometer  fell  from  29°  73  to 

32,  and  our  maximum  temperature  was  26*.    A  heavy 

.  fall  of  snow  covered  the  deck. 


DfilFT    NORTHWARD. 


195 


againJAt  three  A.M  i  setTn  f '"'"l^"'  '^^""^'^ 
and  eastward,  increalL  wV  fP""  *^"  southward 
Perhaps  it  n.ay  rtrb^^eS^^^^  '^'^  ^^^«- 

some  unusual  premonition  of  «?  ^  ^  '^^^"'  «^ 
<^in  it  is  that  our  Zer W      ^r^"  '''''^''  ^"<^  ««r. 

ward,  and  from  thal„ti,  *       *»  ""rthward  and  west- 

thermometer  rose  te  Th  ^  "of"  ^tr^'  """ 
tion  it  was  cold     Th«ro  i.         xi  '  5^®*  *®  ®^nsa- 

this  dis»repa„„y  iS::  "rf'"'  ™'^'  «™^'  '"-"* 
and  the  effecte  of  he^  If  rt ,  TT'""*'  '*S^**' 
28";  and  yet  al  comnlain  fu  1"''^'""^  to-day  at 
influence  of  the  J       "^ '^^^-  «™"  withont'u,e 

CrltaZXMnh!'"''i  """'"^  ""«'--<'  "^ain. 

eat,  and  drin(  a^e^  ^rdW  :fT  """'  ^^ 
It  IS  almost  beyond  A  dn,,hr*r?  ?       ^"^  morrow. 

through  the  cont.„;enS''^/S.t  A  T  """  »"  ^^ 
must  spend  our  winter?^  ^'""'  »»tumn,  we 

the  south,  cllk  stVn   ""?  "*"•    *'''"y  ■»"-  to 
vigil  and  eZ^e     H  ^T^  "  »«"">»««  term  of 
P'^e  such  eS,"tl  v^tTd   rT  '  ''''  "°*  »*™- 
nsjtey.    The  centre  of  greatest  cold  i- 


196 


WELLINGTON     CHANNEL. 


too  near  us,  and  the  communication  with  open  sea  too 

distant. 

"  1  was  in  the  act  of  writing  the  above,  when  a  start- 
ding  sensation,  resembling  the  spring  of  a  well-drawn 
bow,  announced  a  fresh  movement/  Running  on  deck, 
I  found  it  blowing  a  furious  gale,  and  the  ice  again  in 
motion.  I  use  the  word  motion  inaccurately.  The 
field,  of  which  we  are  a  part,  Is  always  in  motion; 
that  is,  drifting  with  wind  or  current.  It  is  only  when 
other  ice  bears  down  upon  our  own,  or  our  own  ice  is 
borne  in  against  other  floesy*that  pressure  and  resist- 
ance  make  us  conscious  of  motion. 

»  The  ice  was  again  in  motion.  The  great  expanse 
of  recently-formed  solidity,  already  bristling  with  hum- 
mocks, had  up  to  this  moment  resisted  the  enormous 
incidence  of  a^eavy  gale.  Suddenly,  however,  the 
pressure  increasing  beyond  its  strength,  it  yielded. 
The  twang  of  a  bow-string  is  the  only  thing  I  caii 
compare  it  to.  In  a  single  instant  the  broad  field  was 
rent  asunder,  cracked  in  every  conceivable  direction, 
tables  ground  against  ^bles,  and  masses  piled  over 
masses.     The  sea  seemed  to  be  churning  ice. 

"  By  the  time  I  had  yoked  my  neck  in  its  serape, 
and  got  up  upon  deck,  the  ice  had  piled  up  a,couple 
of  feet  above  our  bulwarks,  i  In  less  than  another  min- 
ute it  had  toppled  over  aglfiin,  and  we  were  floating 
<  helplessly  in  a  confused  liiass  of  broken  fragments. 
Fortunately  th^ Rescue  rettiained  fixed ;  our  hawser 
was  fast  to  her  stern,  and  }^  it  we  were  brought  side 
by  side  again.  Night.pass^d  anxiously;  i.  e.,  slept  in 
my  clothes,  and  dreamed  of '|)eing  presented  to  Queen 

Victoria.  1  ,  .«.    ,    ,.„ 

-  »  September  21,  Saturday.  We  have  drifted  still 

....^ore  to  the  northward  and  eastward     An  observation 


OKINNELL    LAND. 


197 


gave  us  latitude  75-  20'  38"  N.  We  are  apparently 
not  more  than  seven  miles  from  the  shore.  U  is  stiU 
of  the  characteristic  transition  limestone,  very  uninvit. 
.ng,  snow-covered,  and  destitute;  but  we  Lk  at  it 

"S!  LI   r"  "^  "  ""■"'■"""^  *"  "-e  landed 

,.^1,'^°^  ™*"  ^'^™"°"-    Thermometer,  maxi- 
mum  22  ,  mmimum  19°,  mean  20°  35'.    Wind  Ventre 

"About  tea-time  (21st),  the  sun  sufficiently  low  to 
give  the  effects  of  sunset,  we  saw  distinctly  to  the 
north  by  west  a  series  of  hill-tops,  apparently  of  the 
same  configuration  with  those  around  us.  The  trend 
of  the  western  coast  extending  northward  from  the 
point  opposite  our  vessel  receded  westward,  and  a  va! 
cant  spa«e  either  of  unseen  very  low  land  or  of  water 

ol  us.    Whether  this  Grinnell  Land,  as  our  captain 

JrlTe  f'*' '"'  "  •"•■'«''™«™  of  Comwallis  Cd! 
or  a  cape  from  a  new  northern  land,  or  a  new  direo. 
tion  of  the  eastern  coast  of  North  Devon,  or  a  new 
And,  I  am  not  prepared  to  say.  We  shall  probably 
know  more  ofeach  other  before  long  ^ 

yf  ember  22,  Sunday.  A" cloudless  morning-  no 
»now  fill  afternoon.    Our  drift  during  the  nighthas 

beentothenorthwar*;and,exceptanoccasionflcrtk 
J»  pool,  our  horizon  was  one  mass  of  snow-covered 

„nI75°  '*'"'*'''"")'  «'«'"•  ^ky  with  which  the  day 
opened  gave  us  another  opportunity  of  seeing  the  un 

d  t  StT- ",?"""  ^"""^0"  Sound,   'our  lat . 
Jsdeiy  artificial  horizon  was  7«-  24'  21"N.,  about  sixty-" 


198 


GRINNELL    LAND. 


miles  from  Cape  Hotham.  Cape  Bowden,  on  the  east- 
em  side,  has  disappeared;  and  on  the  west,  Advance 
Bluff,  a  dark,  projecting  cape,  from  which  we  took 
sextant  anglfes,  was  seen  bearing  to  the  west  of  south. 
To  the  northward  and  westward  low  land  was  seen, 
having  the  appearance  of  an  island,*  and  mountain 
tops  terminating  the  low  strip  ahead.  The  trend  "of 
the  shore  on  our  left,  the  western,  is  clearly  to  the 
westward  since  leaving  Advance  Bluff.  It  is  rolling, 
with  terraced  shingle  beach,  and  without  bluffs.  It 
terminates,  or  apparently  terminates,  abruptly,  thus : 


after  which  comes  a  strip  without  visible  land,  and 
then  the  mountain  tops  mentioned  above.  Beyond  this 
western  shore,  distant  only  seven  miles,  we  see  mount- 
ain  tops,  distant  and  very  high,  rising  above  the  clouds. 
''September  25,  Wednesday.  The  wind  has  changed, 
so  that  our  helpless  drift  is  now  again  to  the  north. 
The  day  was  comparatively  free  from  snow ;  but  ndt 
clear  enough  to  give  us  an  observation,  or  to  exhibit 
the  more  distant  coast-lines.  We  can  see  the  western 
shore  very  plainly  covered  with  snow,  and  stretching 
in  rolling  hills  to  the  north  and  west.  A  little  indent- 
ation, nearly  opposite  the  day  before  yesterday,  is  now 
in  nearly  the  same  phase— if  any  thing,  a  little  to  the 
southward.  We  have  therefore  changed  our  position 
by  drift  not  so  much  as  on  the  preceding  days.    The 

•  I  have  followed  my  journal  literally.    I  fin4.  however,  in  my  copy  of  tho 
loK-book.  below  the  entry  of  the  watch-officer  which  mentions  this  island  a 
note  made  by  me  at  the  time :  "  I  can  see  no  island,  but  smiply  this  prolonga- 
=:;tion  or  tongue." —  ^  _ 


■'■)* 


ORINNELL    LAND. 


199 


yet  discovered  o'fC^„rw!K'i''ThrT°^*Pf' 
we  are  nearing  the  shore  '  f""^^  *'>'" 

thickenin,  at  thete^t'l :    '^  T^hirtr  "'''r 
ing  sunshine  and  snow  stnr^     •  ul       .     """*  """f- 

thought  by  Captain  DeH^™'t"f  "f  ^"^^  "  '" 
water.    It  may  be  th«t  cT     *»i«  indicative  of  open 

and  that  this  il  a  c^^tLtTo?  i^''"''  ''""^  *''-''■ 
t-nding  to  the  westtrd  "(^/thisTarf  "^''^"™' 
may  be  merely  the  highland  clo„7s  o^er  tZTT 
ains  seen  on  Sunday ;  but  De  H.v.n  """*■ 

iB  rather  a  vacant  spice  or  wateflT^"'  *'"'*  " 
exemption  being  due  to  Ih^ Z  a  7  'f°'"  "^  •  *e 
em  sfore  (not  Lt^^s^ t^'ireS^'  ^^ 
;^^^a  barrier  to  the  northern  drift  «nh:';::se^t:h:^ 


V 


~\ 


CHAP^^R  XXV. 


r 


I  HAVE  copied  literally  from  my  ^pumal  the  observ- 
ations  which  I  noted  during  our  rorithward  drift,  be- 
cause some  of  them  bear  on  a  ^^stion,  unhappily*" 
made  one  of  controversy,  as  to  thfe  extent  and  charac- 
ter of  the  discoveries  vv^hich  were  dtie  to  the  American 
squadron. 

It  has  been  seen  that  on  the  19th  of  September, 
1850,  we  were  in  latitude  75°  20'  11"  N.,  and  probaJ^-* 
bly  some  seven  miles  frpm  the  western  shore  of  Wel- 
lington Sound.  At  tttl^-tijiie  I  observed,  but  not  with 
certainty,  a  large  cape,  several  minor  headlands,  and 
an  inlet  or  harbor,  in  the  direction  of  Cornwallis  Is!- 
and.  These  may,  perhaps,  have  been  the  Cape  De  Ha- 
ven.  Point  Decision,  and  Helen  Haven  or  Haxbor,  dis- 
covered  and  named  by  Captain  Penny  in  May  of  the 
following  year. 

On  the  21st,  our  latitude  was  75°  20'  38".  The  sky 
being  clear,  and  the  position  of  the  sun  favorable,  I  saw 
distinctly,  bearing  north  by  west,  a  series  of  hill-tops, 
not  mountains,  apparently  of  the  same  configuration 
with  those  around  us,  and  separated  from  CornwaUis , 
Island  by  a  strip  of  low  beach  or  by  water.  I  have^ 
sometimes  thought  that  this  was  the  Baillie  Hamilton 
Island,  also  discovered  by  Captain  Penny  in  1§51. 

On  the  22d,  our  latitude  was  75°  24'  21".  I  now 
saw  land  to  the  north  and  west ;  its  Horizon  that  of 
rolling  ground,  without  blufis,  and  terminating  abrupt- 
ly at  its  northern  end.  Still  further  on  to  the  north 
came  a  strip  without  visible  land,  and  then  land  again^ 


•  ""'-NELL    land;  j,(,j 

Captain  De  Haven  tllal'/j'""''  "'"'"'^  Oom 

Captain  De  Haventoffi  V^  ^'-  '^"»"«"- 
or  October,  ISaTIZeST ' ""«'"'  <•»  ""o  «h 
United  States,  sp;aksofatllf".°"'  "'*"™  *°  ">« 
about  seven  miles  to  the  Z/h'    If  ™''' *«=»<'"'ff«I 
of  September,  1850     "A„ha!„"  pf*^""^'  ""  ""«  22<1 
or  four  miles  in  width  Jn»?*}  ■   *  ^^''  "  '^  «■'«« 
h^and.    This  lat^   IX^t  "  '""  ^•'™«''"" 
our  position,  terminated  abr'upTvIn"!  "T*"^"^'  ''""» 
to  which  I  have  given  the Tme  of  Ma    ™'*' ."*P«'  " 
warm  personal  friend  and  ard^t  .         !'""^'  *"«'  » 
Hition.    Between  Conl  n    t  ""PPorter  of  the  ex: 

•«"t  high  land^llemS  -''  *"''  ™™«  "- 
channel  leading  to  the  westw,rT    a  ?^^^  »  ^"^  ' 
ing  cloud  which  hung  ove^  irrtl  '^^  ''.r'^'  ""^'^'-^k- 
smok*  was  indicativ^.^T^ih?"'"""^  *"™'"'  '"«"'*■      ' 
r«ition.    «    »    ,     To  ,r  K  '^'l  *"'«'• '»  *■>■>«  di- 
Kfeadjnto  the  open  sea  Vv^r"^^  ^hich  appeared 
■ftost-smoke'  hnngCa  stnT^'''""'''  *^^  "''"«'  of 
of  Maury,  after  the  dist^^„^'i  V'T  '"'"  *«  "''«'« 
head  of  our  National  Of,!T.''  gentleman  at  the 
regard  to  an  00^"^?,^"^'  ^^^ose  theory  v^ith 

i-i  th«>„gh  this  ch^^^el  Vol ,7  '"'''^  *"  ■"  """■ 
visible  between  northwest  *t  fu  ''«'*  '^''  »f '"»■) 
the  name  of  Grinn^ChV  A^-^^'''^'^*'  ^  S^™ 
of  the  man  in  wh^e  nhit  ^I  ""  ''^^  '»<'  h^art 
the  idea  of  this  IxZiio^^'T  J°"^'^  °"^»«t«<' 
«  owes  its  existe^S       "'      "^  *°  *'""»  munificence 

tant^ZTfol'tlLr'  '""""^  ^•^•^-  f"""  -.  dis- 
Fmnklin.  rfnS tCb  ^•™''  *^  """"'  "''  *'°"''* 


r 


y 


t"- 


202 


ORINNELL    land;    OR,   - 


land  excursion  from  Point  Innes.on  the  27th  of  Au- 
gust, and  has  received  the  name  of  Griffin  Inlet.  1  he 
small  island  mentioned  b^forte  wa^  called  Murdaugh's 
Island,  after  the  acting  master  of  the  Advance. 

"  The  eastern  shore  of  Wellington  Channel  appear- 
ed  to  run  parallel  with  the  western;  but  it  became 
quite  low,  and,  being  covered  with  snow,  could  not  be 
distinguished  with  certainty,  so  that  its  contmnity 
with  the  high  land  to  the  north  was  not  ascertamed." 
These  discoveries,  with  the  exception  of  Murdaugh 
Island,  present  themselves  on  the  English  maps  in 
•  new  forms  and  with  different  names.     I  do  not  refer 
to  those  which  were  published  in  the  newspapers 
and  by  the  Hydrographic  Office  in  September,  1851; 
though  in  both,  of  them  the  name  of  Prince  Albert  has 
the  place  which  our  commander  had  inseribed  a  year 
before  with  that  of  Mr.  Grinnell :  the  authors  of  these 
two  charts  could  hardly  have  been  informed  «f  the- 
American  discoveries.     I  regret  that  there  is  not  an 
equally  obvious  apology  for  those  who  have  followed 

since.  _.     '      .      •    xv. 

Mr  Arrowsmith's  map  of  th^  "  Discoveries  in  the 
Arctic  Seas"  bears  the  date  of  the  21st  of  October, 
1851  •  though  it  was  not  completed,  in  fact,  for  sev- 
eral-weeks afterward.  This  is  clear  from  some  of  the 
discoveries  it  records;  particularly  those  of  Dr.  Rae, 
which  were  first  announced  to  the  Admiralty  on  the 
10th  of  November.*  The  hydrographical  map  of  the 
British  Admiralty,  with  a^  similar  title,  is  dated  m 
April  1'852.  Both  of  these  documents  reassert  the 
name  of  Albert  Land  for  ftie  large  tract  of  high  lands 
seen  by  us  ta  the  north.    In  the  former,  Arrowsmith  s, 

'  .  see  Remarks  made  at  the  meeting  of  the  National  Institute  at  Washington, 
,     in  May,  1852,  by  the  President  of  the  Institute,  Peter  Force.  Esq. 


ALBERT    LA-ND. 


203 


Journal:  independentiv  »!     ^^    "'"  """'"nev's 

lain  Penny  and  wfolfer^T."''  '.^^''T'  ""^  ^"P- 
drographer  of  the  IZZtr  Jeff  .^  ^""'  "'«  ''y' 
inscribes  Albert  Land  "n  [uT  '"'""er:  .t  „„t„„ly 
after  Mr.  Grinnell  hut  .     ,       't^'""  ''^  '"'"'  "»"'«<" 

and  is  the  "  GrinnellCl    f  .?'"  «•"»"*»"  W- 
ron."  "^  ""^  "'"  American  squad- 

The  controversy  is  perhaps  of  little  moment     Th. 
time  has  gone  bv  when  tho™  """oment.     llie 

ooa^t  «,„Led  on  a  navttorrL^ "'"^  "'''  •''■^'*"' 
ownership  of  the  sbU  otTril,  *"'  """""f"''  '"her' 
even  the  planting  TaZ17^\^  ^"™™  "^  P'-P'^  ^ 
ments  at 'the  to^and  a^e tofd  ^tM'T"'"  ""l""^""" 
insure  now«lays  a  conceZ  tWe  v'  "T  "'  ''""^  ™' 
,    explorers  has  Ip  J  hel'e  .f  tb^  """"^  °^ 

observers  of  nature,  and  holds  it  for  1  """■'  ""™,*"''' 
that  he  who  fir^t  LJ,      aT  '"^  ''""'y  "''"'re 

give  the  n^e     TTn''uV'''  """""""^^  ^-^U  "l^" 
fhe  ext  ernfcWts  t^^ilb''  "7  *"  "'*"--  f™"' 

^  rial,  «ven-an Irdtee  re'Tthra  "s'  '"'="'°- 
whose  noble-spirited  snW^'ctt  f^-^  Sovereign, 

Sound.    It  WM  onlv  b  .       ■""  '"  Lancaster 

■  then,  under  Z  ridL  ^  T""'"'  ""'*  >"«  ?'«"«''«'' 
us    itfi;T  ?""■''"<=«  of  causes  that  can  assert  for 

the  mefidZ  of  oT'  ""''  *'"'  ""'^'  ""'h*™  'and  on 

iS^f --'■  ^i'- Sir: 

^^lery  brief  review  of  the  facts  will  estabm  tim— 


f^  ' 


.4 


^ 


^■ 


C:^ 


Tti'"'^ 


iiJi. 


'204 


GRINNELL    LAND)    OR, 


beyond  the  chance  of  doubt.  To  those  who  have  read 
Captain  De  Haven's  Report,  even  though  it  were  not 
confirmed  in  its  leading  particulars  by  the  extracts 
from  my  journal,  it  must  be  plain  that  on  the  2 2d  of 
September,  1850,  the  officers  of  the  American  expedi- 
tion  saw,  or  thought  they  saw,  from  a  point  in  lati- 
tude 75°  24'  21",  a  large  tract  of  land,  extending  in 
the  distance  from  the  northwest  to  the  north-north- 
east, and  that  they  gave  to  it  the  name  of  Grinnell 
Land.  The  accounts,  which  filled  the  American  news- 
papers immediately  after  our  return  in  September, 
1851,  announced  this  fact  widely,  and  the  rude  charts 
that  were  inserted  in  several  of  them  indicated  both 
the  locality  and  the  name.  When  this  announcement 
was  made,  it  was  not  known  or  supposed  that  any 
other  party  had  ever  sighted  this  high  northern  tract. 
There  was  no  one  from  whom  the  Americans  could 
have  borrowed  the  knowledge  of  its  existence,  posi- 
tion, or  outline.  The  fact,  more  recently  ascertained, 
that  others  also  have  seen  a  similar  tract  in  the  same 
lirection,  may  confirm  the  truth  of  the  American  state- 
ment ;  but  it  is  difficult  to  imagine  how  it  can  be  re- 
garded as  impeaching  it.  It  only  proves  that  the  land 
is*  there,  as  the  American  commander  said  it  was ; 
while  to  those  who  doubt  his  assertion  that  he  discov- 
ered it,  it  leaves  the  somewhat  puzzling  question,  how 
it  came  to  pass  that  he  knew  of  its  existence. 

But  it  is  not  alone  the  report  of  Captain  De  Haven, 
corroborated  by  memoranda  made  on  the  spot — it  is 
not  on  these  alone  that  the  asserted  discovery  rests. 
All  the  officers  of  the  American  squadron  were  present 
at  the  time  wh«n  it  is  said  to  have  taken  place ;  they 
were  all  of  them  in  New  York  when  the  accounts  of 
^^  were  in  the  TiewspaperB  |  they^have  all  of  them  read 

r- 


*i'. 


ALBERT    LAND. 


205 


the  official  report  of  their  commander  •  «„,I  ti.  • 
a  man  among  them  who  «o^T  '  ""'' *««  ■«  not 
gle  moment  the  cou„r„anrof  h^r,^'""'  ^"^  "  ^'"■ 
cated  claim.    I  can  nTT  ^'^""'^  *»  »  ^bri- 

b^noh  of  the  ,u:L:i;'tthT"*"  -"""^^  *'^- 

Land  of  the  Ame^ca^'^f^fTP'''''  *'"**  *"  «"»»"" 
Hamilton  Man7  p^iiTh    "Z*'  ^  '"»<'*  ^aUlie 
marked  on  allthemf^L       """"j''  ^'™<'-  ««  «  «' 
of  northwest  from  t^ 'lu^n  7^"-"%  to  the  west 
of  September.    What  K      ?.  T  ™'«'  °"  *•■«  a^d 
bribed  and  plotted  was^^^T  "."  ^''™°  ^''*-  »■«'  de- 
uorthwesttoL  no^rirth!    *    rT"'"''^  ft"™  ^e 
It  is  scarcely  a  w^m„w  ,         "5""'  ^""^  Po^^'ion. 

i-  e.pl„re^  "^Ch  thetr^^f  tt  if  d^^^" 
Sixty  or  seventy  degrees  *  ^"^  ^^^^ 

di/tattTs:™' fc'd  f  '"^  ^'»''™''»  ^"-j™" 

IMO, we  are  reL"  ft  he  „1'""''""  '"September, 
d«overed  it  before  tW  '""'^'  '''^  ^^  ""» 

thR  SM  Jo  ""  "'^^  second  Of  time     Si.ofc  ^  •  "'»°w- 

theSM  of  September,  i860,  would  be  equaTT,.  ,f.>  /"  "^^'  '''""P-'ed  up  to 

favorable  for  aatronomical  obaervattons     '^t        ""'""■•  '"'^''^«''  *"  r^U 
noted m  my  copy  of  theTpg m.T  r"  "L  .^^  ""»'  reliable  one-wWefc  f^^ 


nn><^  •  """""uiuicai  observationn     Tk..  '  ■■""""er.  was  rareir 

noted  m  my  copy  of  the  r  ng  gi.T  r"  ^L  .^"  '"""  '^'iaWe  one-wWefc  3 
™m..  930  8F^,^™^«««»fe™lon«ttude,  i„  our  extreme  Stol^ 


J|; 


*i,i-.  j:.,.- 


A 


206 


GRINNELL    LAND;    OK, 


ralty  of  September,  1851.  But  this  was  eight  months 
after  it  had  been  seen  by  us  and  received  its  American 
designation. 

The  Arrowsmith  map  of  October  21,  or  rather,  as 

we  have  seen,  of  Noveinber,  1851 — it  is  immaterial 

which  is  regarded  as  the  true  date — was  completed 

after  the  discovery  of  Grinnell  Land  by  the  Americans 

had  been  made  known  in  England.     Our  squadron 

arrived  at  New  York  on  the  30th  of  September,  1851, 

and  the  intelligence  crossed  the  Atlantic  by  the  next 

steamer.    It  was  in  the  maps  published  immediately 

after  this  that  it  was  first  made  known  to  the  world 

that  the  English  discovery  was  older  by  nine  months 

than  had  been  supposed  before;  and  that  the  very 

name  of  Albert  Land,  which  this  region  ha^  received 

either  from  Penny  or  the  hydrographer,  after  Penny's 

return  in  September,  1851,  had,  by  a  coincidence  as 

striking  as  it  was  happy,  been  conferred  upon  it  on 

the  26th  of  August,  1850,  by  another  officer,  in  honor 

of  the  day  on  which  he  had  himself  seen  it ;  a  day 

doubly  fortunate  as  the  natal  day  of  the  prince  con- 

sort  and  of  Captain  Ommanney's  discovery. 

Yet  another  notice,  in  the  recent  work  of  Dr.  S^th- 
erland,  defines  the  authorship  of  this  discovery  still 
more  precisely.  Passing  by  the  American  claim  with- 
out remarking  even  that  it  ever  was  asserted,  this  writ- 
er allots  the  honor  alternatively  to  Captain  Penny's 
party  in  May,  1851,  or  to  Captain  Ommanney,  of  the 
Assistance,  and  Mr.  Manson,  mate  of  the  Sophia,  on 
the  26th  of  August,  1850. 

It  was  for  me  a  matter  of  curious  inquiry,  upon  what 
evidence  this  newest  claim  of  discovery  might  rest. 
I  have  examined  with  all  care  Captain  Ommanney's 
report  to  Commodore  Austin  of  the  10th  of  Septera- 


■■a 


ALBERT    LAND. 


207 


ber,  1850  and  Commodore  Austin's  offidal  reports  of 
subsequent  date,  and  have  Wked  through  the  differ 
entlette^of  Captain  Penny,  who  was  the  command. 

a  claim.  Indeed  I  am  not  aware  that  either  Captain 
Ommanney  or  Mr.  Hanson  has  authorized  the  astr" 
ton  of  It.    HappUy,  the  question  may  be  decided  with- 

Z  f  "S^TT^^'""-  "'''*  "^''her  of  them  did  or 
tZm  '"'™'''  """''  ''  ™-  ™P»W  to 

On  the  26th  of  August,  1850,  Captain  Ommanney 
waa  on  board  h.s  own  vessel,  the  Assistance.  He  3 
been  detachediy  Commodore  Austin  to  make  a  thoV- 
ough  exammation  of  the  coast  about  Cape  Hotham 

«.d  fast  ,n  the  ice.between  that  point  and  Barlow's 
Inlet  He  was  seen  there  by  Mr.  Penny,  by  Commo- 
dor^ustm,  and  by  every  one  on  board  the  AdvTn™ 
He  may  not  have  been  seen  there  by  some  of  his  Brit.' 
ish  a^ocmtes  on  the  26th,  for  a  reason  which  I  shall 
aJvert  to  presently;  but  on  the  27th  he  wa.  there 

till  the  3d  of  September.  Now  he  who  feels  interest 
nj  *•"„  1''«««»"  to  e^end  a  scale  upon  any  „f 
the  charts,  will  prove  for  himself  that  on  the  26th  of 
August,  Captain  Ommanney,  being  then  off  Cape  Ho- 
ttiam  wa^  at  the  distance  of  a  hundred  miles  from  the 

tand  he, s  supposed  to  have  that  day  discovered.    We    / 
had  drifted  more  than  sixty  miles  to  the  north  of  his    ' 
poition  before  we  saw  that  land,  and  it  was  then  some 
foj^milessUll  further  to  the  north.    We  lost  it  SI 
-"fSwt-weirad  dflftea  back  ten  mUes  to  the  south!' 


^A-<.  ■ 


-*V.^J»«r^^  - 


^    .- 


208 


GRINNELL    LAND;    OR, 


-\.'i 


On  the  26th  we  were  oflf  Cape  Innis,  and  Captain 
Ommanney  about  ten  miles  further  to  the  south.  Our 
log-book  speaks  of  two  vessels  beset  in  the  ice  off  O  ape 
Hp^am,  which  were  no  doubt  his ;  but  the  state  of 
the  atmosphere  was  such  as  to  make  it  impossible  to 
recognize  any  thing  at  that  distance.  My  n>etebro- 
logical  record  for  the  day  shows  this  :  it  was  dull  and 
heavy,  till  it  was  relieved  by  a  fall  of  snow. 

The  journal  recei^tly  published  by  Dr.  Sutherland 
shows  it  also.  Under  the  date  of  August  26th,  it  says  : 
"At  one  o'clock  A.M.  the  ships  were  made  fast  to  the 
floe,  to  take  some  water  from  it,  and  to  wait  until  the 
weather  should  clear  up  ;'^  and  "  during  the  day  the 
weather  was  almost  perfectly  calm,  the  sky  was  over- 
cast with  a  dense  misty  haze,  and  toward  evening  there 
was  a  great  deal  of  soft  snow." — Vol.  i.,  p.  296,  298. 
Captain  Ommanney  himself,  writing  on  the  10th  of 
September,  sq^ys :  *'  During  the  day  (the  25th  of  Au- 
gust), we  kept  along  the  solid  field  of  ice,  extending 
from  Cape  Innis  to  Barlow's  Inlet,  which  bounded  the 
horizon  to  the  northward,  and  where  wo  land  ii^  vis^ 
ihle.  When  six  miles  east  of  Barlow'a Jjilet,  the  pack- 
ice  closed  in  and  stopped  my  further  progress.  In  this 
position  we  continued  beset  in  Wellington  Channel 
from  the  25th  ultimo  to  the  3d  instaii^t,  strong  south-, 
easterly  winds  and  thick  weather  prevailing."  Tfie 
question  of  discovery  by  Captain  Ommanney  on  the 
26th  of  August  resolves  itsejf,  therefore,  into  this.  Could 
he,  when  objects  were  not  distinguishable  at  ten  mijes 
distance,  make  discoveries  at  the  distance  of  a  hund- 
red? 

As  to  Mr.  Manson,  he  was  on  board  the  Sophia  on 
the  25th,  and  does  not  appear,  from  Dr.  Siitherland's 
journal,  to  have  left  her  for  some  time  afterward.    On^ 


■■■^^^"id^' 


a,-^^Wi*i;fu»*w~-t^,;i^.,,,,^|iajt*ffl 


209 

M..Manso„pe,hapr;„„tt^rit^ '"'"'''''■ 
for  me  to  say  that  amn„„7i.  ■  *"''  '*  '*  enough 

of  informati™wh„h::i*47;^'"/--«''g  pieces 

«>imnunicative  seam™  1  bT         ■"'  *''*'  '«'»<'?'  »<> 

discovery  by  his  mXwiJnotTTT!  '"'^^  "^  ^"-'''  » 

the  journals  I  have  ate^"l";t  *''"*"«^*. 
on  board  the  Sophia  cSthf^  r'*'"'*  "o  »»« 
distant  discovery  allll  ^^  '"'™  """^e  »y 

I  pass  gladly  to  other  tonics     Ti.       i,-,- 
«%  and  feelinff  that  AmI      ..  .  °  "°'"'''y  "f  eh-V- 

of  Union  Bay,  fnd  1  tS^'-^.^r""'..^""^""''"''^ 
der  to  the  gensro,,,  ™       V^  obligations  I  am  un- 

ments  of  the  bS  L" ''u  "'"'"'  '»■  'he  depart- 
Whic,  have  rn^e  twf  ^'™"^:  ^^P^^-'ly  the  hydro- 
one.  My  reconectLl.  ''''''T™  *  ""'^'  "nwelLi^ 
more  nrIZ^^ZT^'''''1:  "'"'PS 

ft.t  the  princi^,  sh::r„:t:ir"'fer^'''- 

able  for  that  which  bears  the  sSJtH^^  ™™"- 

«-n.i„voJr:;;^-r.r:;!:-^^ 


THI  ADVARCK  IN  TH«  ICE,  26TH  SEPTEMBER,  1850. 


4     ^' 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 


I\m  reluctant  to  burden  my  pages  \i[ith  the  wild, 
but  scarcely  varied  incidents  of  our  continued  drift 
through  Wellington  Channel.    We  were  yet  to  be  fa- 
miliarized  with  the  strife  of  the  ice-tables,  now  broken 
up  into  tumbling  masses,  and  piling  themselves  in 
angry  confusion  ^-gainst  our  sides— now  fixed  in  cha- 
otic  disarray  by  the  fields  of  new  ib^  that  imbedded 
them  in  a  single,  night— again,  perhaps,  opemng  in 
treacherous  pools,  only  to  close  round  us  with  a  force 
that  threatened  to  grind  our  brigs  to  powder.    I  shall 
have  occasion  enough  to  speak  of  these  things  here- 
after.     I  give  now  a  few  extracts  from  my  journal; 
some  of  which  may  perhaps  have  interest  of  a  differ- 
ent  character,  though  they  6an  not  escape  the  smlden- 
ing  monotony  of  the  scenes  that  were  about  us. 
I  begin  with  a  partial  break-up  thalT  occurred  on  the 

23d.  ,  .  ,,. 

«  September  23.  Hd4  shall  I  describe  \p  you  this 
^  piessure^ts  fearfuliiess  and  sublimity !     Nothing  that 


AN    ICE    BATTLE. 


211 


I  have  seen  or  read  of  approaches  it      Tk.      ■ 

the  iee  »n^  tl.«  i.  "PProa^nes  it.     fhe  voices  of 

•     Ini  1m  "^  '^'"^  "f  ">«  overturned  hum- 

mo  ttables  are  at  this  moment  dinning  in  my  eaTs. 

Fourteen  mches  of  solid  ice  thickness,  with  some 
half  dozen  of  sSow,  are,  with  the  slow  uniform  advance 

:rTmi:f-:^t:s;i^trs£ 

toe,  others  take  a  downward  directi^,  and  Sn 

Celh"'  ¥h"  'S"  "'"r^-  «>">•  "  similar  pile  „:: 
demeath.    The  side  on  which  one  or  the  other  of  these 
*«tons  takes  place  for  the  time,  varies  with  the  dir^ 
tion  of  the  force,  the  strength  of  the  opposite  or  rS 
J  side,  the  inclination  of  the  vessel,'^d  the  w^ht' 
of  the  sapenncumbent  mounds;  and  as  these  cond^ 
hons  follow  each  othe.  in  varying  succdSsioMhe  vet" 
sel  becomes  -perfectly  Uedded  after  a  little  whillit 

crumbling  and  fractured  ice.      ■ 

"Perhaps  no  vessel  has  ever  been  in  this  position 

wood  could  resist  such  pressure.    As  for  thft  British 

vessels,  their  size  would  make  it  next  t»  impol"™e 

or  them  io  stand.    Back's '  Winter'  is  the  ZwZ^t 

"nt    "'^:'*''?'-™"-is  >»«  of  ourpresent  p3 

"We  are  lifted  bodily  eighteen  inches  out  of  wate'r 
*t.se  m  »«me  oases  tt  couple  of  feet  above  our  but    " 


•J 


■  n 


212 


IN    THE    ICE    OF    THE    CHANNEL. 


warks— five  feet  above  our  deck.  They  are  very  often 
ten  and  twelve  feet  high.  All  hands  are  out,  labor- 
ing  with  picks  and  crowbars  to  overturn  the  fragments 
that  threaten  to  overwhelm  us.  Add  to  this  darkness, 
snow,  cold,  and  the  absolute  destitution  of  surround- 

ing  shores. 

"This  uprearing  of  the  ice  is  not  a  slow  work :  it  is 
progressive,  but  not  slow.  It  was  only  at  4  P.M.  that 
the  nips  began,  and  now  the  entire  plain  is  triangula- 
ted with  ice-barricades.  Under  the  double  influence 
of  sails  and  warping-hawsers,  we  have  not  been  able 
to  budge  a  hair's'-breadth.  Yet,  impelled  by  this  irre- 
sistible, bearing-down  floe-monster,  we.  crush,  grind, 
eat  our  way,  surrounded  by 'the  ruins  of  our  progress. 
In  fourteen  minutes  we  changed  our  position  80  feet, 
or  5.71  per  minute. 

'« Sometimes  the  ice  cracks' with  violence,  almost  ex- 
plosive, throughout  the  entire  length  of  the  floe.  Very 
grand  this !  Sometimes  tl^e  hummock  masses,  |)iled 
up  like  crushed  sugar  around  the  ship,  suddenly  sink 
into  the  sea,  and  then  fresh  mounds  take  their  place: 

•«  Our  little  neighbor,  the  Rescue,  is  all  this  time 
within  twenty  yards  of  us,  resting  upon  wedges  of 'ice, 
and  not  subjected  to  movenaent  or  pressure— a  fact  of 
interest,  as  it  shows  how  very  small  a  difference  of  po- 
sition  may  determine  the  differing  fate  of  two  vessels. 

''September  24.  The  ice  is  kinder;  no  fresh  move- 
ments.; a  little  whining  in  the  morning,  but  since  then 
undisturbed.  The  ice,  however,  is  influenced  by  the 
"  wind;  for  open  water-pools  have  formed — three  around 
the  ship  within  eye  distance.  In  one  of  these,  the 
seals  ihftde  their  appearance  toward  noon ;  no  less  than 
five  disporting  together  among  the  sludge  of  the  open 
— ^watefr^  Istarted  og'on  a  perilous  walk  over  the  ruia^ 


^    / 


^ 


u^ 


I 


WELLINGTON    CHANNEL. 


213 


mg  myself  for  forty  minutes  in  an  atmosphere  tende. 
grees  above  zero,  came  back  without  a  shot.  The 
condensed  moisture  had  ,o  affected  my  powder  that  I 
could  not  get  my  gun  off. 

nin7^^'  «>n/«n«ation  is  now  very  troublesome,  drip- 
^1  ^,Ti^rr«»r  carlines,  and  sweating  ov;r  the 
roof  and  berth-boards.    When  we  open  the  hXhw' 
the  steam  ri*es  m  clouds  from  th«  little  cabin  belof 
^    We  have  as  yet  no  fires;  wot«e!  the  state  of  un- 
certainty m  which  we  are  placed  makes  it  impossi2 
to  resort  to  any  winter  arrangements.    Yet  these  lard 
lamps  &ive  us  a  temperature  of  46^  which  to  men  like 
ourselves,  used  to  constant  out-door  exercise,  exposure      / 
and  absence  of  artificial  heat,  is  quite  genial    Butfo;  > 
he  moisture-that  wretched,  comfortless,  rheumaS/ 
drawback-we  would  be  quite  snug.  "mati^y 

"Our  captain  is  the  best  of  sailors ;  but  inteAf  «1 
ways  on  the  primary  objects  and  duti;s  of  hTs  c^^^^^^^ 
he  IS  apt  to  forget  or  postpone  a  provident  r  gard  S 
those  creature-comforts  which  have  interest  for^others 
To-day,  with  the  thermometer  at  10°,  we  for  the  first 
time  commenced  the  manufacture  of  stove-pi^     I 

tinWs  Zr  *''  "'' r^^  P^^y^^  hob  w^h'the 
^nkers.  If  they  go  on  at  the  present  rate,  the  pipes 
will  be  nearly  rea^y  by  next  summer.  ^ 

^[September  26.  The  hummocks  around  us  still  re 
mam  without  apparent  motion,  heaped  up  like  snow 
covered  barriers  of  street  rioters.     We  are  ttdgedT-' 

huge  mass  of  tables,  completely  out  of  watef,  crl- 
dled  by  ice.    I  wish  it  would  give^us  an  even  keel 
We^are^eighteen  inches  higher  on  ^ne  quarter  than 

_^he  two  large  pools  we  observed  yesterday,  one^gn 


214 


SEAL    HUNTING. 


each  side  of  us,  are  now  coated  by  a  thick  film  of  ice. 
In  this  the  poor  seals  sometimes  shsw  themselves  in ' 
groups  of  half  a  dozen.  They  no  longer  sport  about 
as  they  did  three  weeks  ago,  but  rise  up  to  their  breasts 
through  young  ice,  and  gaze  around  with  curiosity, 
smitten  countenances. 

"  The  shyness  of  the  seal  is  proverbial.  The  Esqui- 
m^ux,  trained  from  earliest  youth  to  the  pursuit  of 
them,  regard  a  successful  hunter  as  the  great  man  of 
the  settlement:  If  not  killed  instanl^aneously ,  the  seal 
sinks  and  is  lost.  The  day  before  yesterday,  I  Mopted 
the  native  plan  of  silent  watching  beside  a  pool.  Thus 
for  a  long  time  I  was  exposed  to  a  temperature  of  +8° ; 
but  no  shots  within  head-range  offered ;  and  I  knew 
that,  unless  the  spinal  column  or  base  of  the  brain 
was  entered  by  the  ball,  it  would. be  useless  to  waste 
our  already  scanty  ammunition. 

"  To-day,  however,  I  was  more  fortunate.  A  fine 
young  seal  rose  a^out  forty  yards  off,  and  I  put  the 
ball  between  the  ear  and  eye.  A  boat  was  run  over 
the  ice,  and  the  carcass  secured.  This  is  the  second 
I  have  killed  with  this  villainous  carbine :  it  will  be  a 
valuable  help  to  our  sick.  We  are  now  very  fond  of 
seal-meat.  It  is  far  better  than  bear;  and  the  fishi- 
ness,  which  at  first  disturbditis,  is  no  longey  disagree- 
able.  I  simply  skin  them,  retaining  the  blubber  with 
the  pelt.  The  cold  soon  renders  them  solid.  My  bear, 
although  in  a  barrel,  is  as  stiff  and  hard  as  horn. 

"  Took  a  skate  this  morning  over  some  lakelets  re- 
cently frozen  pver.  The  ice  was  tenacious,  but  not 
strong  enough  for  safety.  As  I  was  moving  along  over 
the  tickly-benders,  my  ice-pole  drove  a  hole,  and  came 
very  near  dropping  through  into  the  water. 
i^f^eptemher  g?-  Thiff  f>Y^"ing  the  thermometer  gave 


,U\3" 


WELLINGTON    CHANNEL. 


215 


3'  above  zero.     A  bit  of  ice,  which  I  took  into  my 

awaj?,the  skin.  When  we  open  the  cabin  hatch  now 
a  cloud  of  steam,  visible  only  as  the  two  currents  meeT 
gives  evidence  of  the  Arctic  condensation.  ' 

Afar  off,  skippmg  from  hummock  to  hummock  I 
«aw  a  black  fox.  Poor  desolate  devil!  whaWid  he  \ 
so  far  from  his  recorded  home  seven  mJlo„  7  '1 

.h.  naked  snow-hiUs  of  thriZywlSI^T  \ 
a.e  night-time  I  heard  him  bark.    TlJlZTL   f 
him ;  but  I  .ecretly  pla^d  a  bigger  Wt'oZlTitt 
out  a  snare.l<H,p  or  trigger.    I«  the  morni„7 1  4as- 
gone,  and  the  dead-fall  had  fallen  upon  „„  fo!    hTw 
thepoor,  hungry  fhlng  must  have  enjoyed  hLsupwr^ 
hah' the  guts  the  spleen,  and  the  pLi  of  myseaT ' 
.    I^™"  ™'««''  «  swing;  cold  work,  but  Zd  etr 
c^.^  He  rigged  it  from  the  main  studding-Su  b^m 
Murdaugh  and  Carter  are  building  a  snowiouse    Tht 
doctor  IS  hard  at  work  patching^p  mrterirfor  an 
overhnd  communication  with  the  English  luodro^ 
pn  enterprise  fast  becoming  desptZ     vTt^ 
mg  as  we  are  to  unknow,  regions  north,  it  is  of t^ 
X^"^        """"^  *'"'"  """"  of  our'posui™  IZ 

H^s  ^hS  fT""'  "'  """  "■«'  »'  September, 

»  certli^de^7l  ^"""'"'^'"8  ™'''>  S»™  P">»i^  of 
a  certam  degree  of  security  and  rest.    The  Advance 
had  been  driven,  by  the  superior  momentum  ofT   ^ 
floes  that  pressed  us  on  one  side,  some  two  bund  ed 

th'-^hi:  1 R  *''  ""^  v^  "™«"^ fl- » 

ar^    an!l  ;i.   *  *  ■"'"nwhile  remaining  station, 

ary ,  and  the  two  vessels  were  fixed  for  a  time  on  two 

fci-"!!  f  -  --^^■->  -""  e-ose  to  ea.h°:ttr 


#j 


m.  „  : — '""gio,  twiu  Close  to  each  other 

Jto-unseea*n4«ryi„g«nergies  ofthe  ic«m„v^sl^ 


/' 


.*il.i 


I 


216 


PREPARING  FOR  THE  WINTER. 


I 


had  occasionally  modified  the  position  of  each ;  Jmt 
their  relation  to  each  other  continued  almost  un- 
changed. 

We  felt  that  we  were  fixed  for  the  winter.  We  ar- 
ranged our  rude  embankments  of  ice  and  snow  around 
us,  began  to  deposit  our  stores  within  them,  and  got 
out  our  felt  covering  that  was  to  serve  as  our  winter 
roof.  The  temperature  was  severe,  ranging  from  l°.o, 
and  4°  to  +10° ;  but  the  men  worked  with  the  energy, 
and  hope  too,  of  pioneer  settlers,  when  building  up 
their  first  home  in  our  Western  forests. 

Tfte  closing  day  of  the  month  was  signalized  by  a 
brilliant  meteor,  &  modification  of  the  parhelion,  the 
more  interesting  to  us  because  the  first  we  had  seen. 

"October  1,  Tuesday.  To-day  the  work  of  breaking 
hold  commenced.  The  coal  immediately  under  the 
main  hatch  was  passed  up  in  buckets,  and  some  five 
tons  piled  upon  the  ice.  The  quarter-boats  were  haul- 
ed about  twenty  paces  from  our  port-bow,  and  the 
sails  covered  and  stacked ;  in  short,  all  hands  were  at 
work  |>reparing  for  the  winter.  Little  had  we  cHcu- 
lated  the  caprices  of  Arctic  ice. 

"  About  ten  o'clock  A.M.  a  large  prack  opened  near- 
ly-  east  and  west,  running  as  far  as  the  eye  could  see, 
sometimes  jcrossing  the  ice-pools,  and  sometimes  break- 
ing along  jthe  hummock  ridges.    The  sun  and  nioon^'^. 
will  be  in  Conjunction  on, the  3d ;  we  had  notice,  thereC-^ 
fore,  that  the  spring  tides  are  in  action. 

"Captain  Griflin  had  been  dispatched  with  Mr.Lov- 
ell  befoWithis,  to  establish  on  the  shore  the  site  for  a 
depdt  of  provisions :  at  one  o'clock  a  signal  was  made 
to  recall  them.  At  two  P.M.,  seeing  a  seal,  I  ran  out 
upon  the  ice ;  but  losing  him,  was  tempted  to  contmue 
on  abbut  a  mile  to  the  eastward.    The  wind,  which 


REMARKS    ON    Thp    t^„    ^ «. 

v«    THE   ice-oPenino.  217 

had  been  from  the  westwanl  u]]\u 
shiiled  to  the  southw3  «n  .  .^    -^^  "'^''"^"e^'  ^«^ 
"  be  again  in  mSn      The  f  ^^^ /^-tables  began  to 
6      ,      "'""on.     ihe  hummme  of  beet  mwl  n,^ 
heaving  hummocks,  together^ wifh  J^  a  P' 

Earned  me  back  to  ihe  vessel  ^      ^"^  '''^*'^^ 

wilh^'slL'Lttl^rnTr  '\'^"""'  commenting 

out,  that  nZ^zi:z:t:^:i'''-^'  -^^'^ 

began.    Running  on  deck  we  f!      ,^T^ P^PP'''^' 

'  -toning  at  thi.  m.m™7tLdLd  SZ  T**  ''""^'  ""^ 
work  with  the  rest     V„«  ij      ^  "Imnerless,  went  to 

horsw.    Befol  daA  I^  Tk*^  '"''  "'y«'«"*<'*«'l  like 

tke  Ll  ■  aad^f  tt  '     7  *'""S  «"«  «» "x^^d  except 
™  "*• '  *'«'  "•  tlus,  snch  were  the  unwenrioJ  „ir  Jl 

of  our  crew,  that  we  lost  Ut  a  ton  orC         ""f"* 

c-slit'^t::^rt!  :z  't^-'  r."-"^-  •«• 

before  how  caDrinZi    •  "* '"''  nn-Jerstand  it 

"vealed  ITC   ST"?  T  "»'  I"^''™'    1' 
"1  The  S.^,  u  °"  *"  **  """on  of  the  ice 

ta;  the  wind  i^n'fM"''^''*"'  »"«^  "'"^^ed  the 

«  2   -rtl       7  I .  "'""'g'flg  to  the  southward 
of  the  ^Z  T^fT  r  *■"> "-- Wn 

W8  imDeS^ft  *"*'  *■'"**'■«  '•ementation 

j»ra^~t!^' «'™"*«'»  days  of  very  low  tem" 

I"    TB.  '"•■"""■'to.rcB^ttr.bnjabl^  perhaps,  to  the 


>  - 


^^1^ 

l^*" 


'  -1 


N, 


!"218 


ICB-OPENING. 


/ 


-'h' 


y 


massive  character  of  the  up-pW  tahles,  which  pro-     ^ 
tected  the  inner  portion  of  them  from  the  air,  and  to 
the  constant  infiltration  {endosmose)  of  salt-water  at 
the  abraded  margins.  ^  .. 

»  3.  The  extent  to  which  the  work  of  super  and  in, 
fra  position  had  been  carried  during  the  actions  may 
be  realized,  when  I  say  that  the  floe-piece  which  sep. 
arated  from  us  to  starboard  retained  the  exact  impres- 
sion  of  the  ship's  side.  There  it  was,  with  the  gang, 
way  stairs  of  ice-block  masonry,  looking  down  upon 
the  dark  water,  and  the  useless  embankment  embra*. 
ing  a  sludgy  ice-pool. 

"We  could  see  table  after  table,  more  properly  layer 
after  layer,  each  not  more  fhan  seven  inches  thick,  ex- 
tending  diwn  for  more  than  twenty  feet.  Thus,  it  is 
highly  probable,  may  be  formed  many  of  those  etior- 
mou^  ioeltables,  attributed  by  authors  to  direct  and 
unh^t^frupted  congelation. 

|/'"Che  quantity  of  ice  adhering  to  our  port-side  must 
/  \e  enormous ;  for  although  the  starboard  floe,  in  leav- 
'  ing  us,  parted  a  six-inch  hawser,  it  failed  to  budge  us 
on^e  inch  from  the  icy  cradle  in  .which  we  are  set." 


•TtV 

A' 


^ 


*  .-.-'.....^^^m^ 


T»E  4DVAKCE,  OFF  caOKE.'s  BAT. 

CHAPTER  XXVII.     . 

«xea.  and  we  hlT/oIes  ^^^^Z  ?„? ^  V^^ 
was  so  liable  to  momen*arv  «n,i        i     ?'  ?   Position 

irwouH  have  bee„rp'2tirate™Xttrr''*' 

a^ut ..  o„f:rar  hKra  zz  > 

our  cabin  floor.    But  the  stataoftv  "'"?  "" 

whole,  exceedingly  comrorteTa^dtr  ""i:  °"  *'«' 

«=«rvy  had  attacked,  ^unrirn' ?r        T''°''' *''<' 
when  the  lard-lamp  died  out  Cth        ""'T'*'-  """e. 

the  10th  that  we  got  up  our  Ive,    '    "  ""^  ""'  *"' 

le^^atiircklnflt^hTtLf-Cerr- 
Ihadjassftdthethrcc  -urinf^...  i.  f  .  g^^at  force. 


x> 


220 


WELLINGTON    CHANNEL. 


I'  ■' 


j-< 


watch  patiently  for  hours  together  to  get  a  shot  at 
seals,  with  the  thermometer  at  +10°.  I  wrote  my 
journal  in  imaginary  comfort  with  a  temperature  of 
40°,  and  was  positively  distressed  with  heat  when  ex- 
ercising on  the  ice  with  the  mercury  at  +19°. 
I  return  to  my  diary. 

«  October  3.  I  write  at  midnight.  Leaving  the  deck, 
where  I  have  been  tramping  the  cold  out  of  my  joints, 
Itome  below  to  our  little  cabin.  As  I  open  the  hatch, 
every  thing  seems  bathed  in  dirty  milk.  A  cloud  of 
vapor  gushes  out  at  every  chink,  and,  as  the  cold  air 
travels  down,  it  is  seen  condensing  deeper  and  deeper. 
The  thermometer  above  is  at  7°  below  zero. 

"The  brig  and  the  ice  around  her  are  covered  by  a 
strange  black  obscurity— not  a  mist,  nor  a  haze,  but  a 
peculiar,  waving,  palpable,  unnatural  darkness:  it  is 
the  frost-smoke  of  Arctic  winters.  Its  range  is  very 
low.  Climbing  to  the  yard-arm,  some  thirty  feet  above 
the  deck,  I  looked  over  a  great  horizon  of  black  smoke, 
and  above  me  saw  the  heaven  without  a  blemish. 

"  October  4.  The  open  pools  can  no  longer  be  called 
pools ;  they  are  great  rivers,  whose  hummock-lined 
shores  look  dimly  through  the  haze.  Contrasted  with 
the  pure  white  snow,  their  waters  are  black  even  to 
inkyness ;  and  the  silent  tides,  undisturbed  by  ripple 
or  wash,  pass  beneath  a  pasty  film  of  constantly  form- 
ing ice.  The  thermometer  is  at  10°.  Away  from  the 
ship,  a  long  way,  I  walked  over  the  older  ice  to  a 
spot  where  the.  open  river  was  as  wide  as  the  Dela- 
ware.  Here,  after  some  crevice-jumping  and  tickly- 
bender  crossing,  I  set  myself  behind  a  little  rampart 
of  hummocks,  watching  for  sef^ls. 

"As  I  watched,  the  smoke,  the  frost-smoke,  came* 
— doWM  ill  wreaths,  like  the  lambent  tongues  «  burning^- 


SEAL     HUNTING. 


221 


I  was  sooii  envel. 


turpentine  seen  without  the  bk^e 
oped  in  crapy  mist. 

"To  shoot  seal,  one  must  practice  the  Esquimaux 
laches  of  much  patience  and  complete  immob"  t 

^Z^LL       'T  ^^''  ^"li experience, to  sit  mo- 
tionless and  noiseless  as  a  statue,  with  a  cold  iron 

zero     ButC  '^f  V'"'  *'^  *^^~«*-  ^^^^^ 
zero.    But  by.and-by  I  wa«  rewarded  by  seeinff  some 

l^TmfaJr^vT  ^'"'  "^"^'^  expectation,  they 
El.r^  again.     Very  strange  are  these  seal.    A  coun 
liy^nance  between  the  dog  and  the  mild  African  apZ' 
an  expression  so  like  that  of  humanity,  thatlt  2^ 
gun-murderers  hesita^.    At  last,  at  long  shot,Th 
one.    God  forgive  mej  >  *  "^ 

■"  The  ball  did  not  kill  outright.    It  wm  out  of  range 
.tmck  too  low,  and  entered  the  lungs.    The  p^r  teS 
had  ri^n  brea«t.high  out  of  water  Jite  the't^aZ    , 
water  swimmers  among  ourselves.    He  was  thus  si 
ported  looking  about  with  curious,  expectant  eye^ 
when  the  ball  entered  his  lungs.  ^       > 

"  For  a  moment  he  oozed  a  little  bright  blood  from 
h^  mouth,  apd  looked  toward  me  with  a  Lrt  of  st^ 

er,  he  came  up  still  nearer,  looked  again,  bled  asain 
and  went  down.  A  half  instant  aferward  tlTe 
up  flumedly,  looked  about  with  anguish  in  his  7Z 
for  he  was  quite  near  me ;  but  slowly  he  sunk  stag' 

iraie  more.    Th*  thing  was  drowning  in  the  element 
^rsoTfo^'C'-    ^^^'""-"^'^'X.  JZk! 


'hi;  animal'.  nhiTin       '.'""'=«''"'«  expression  of 
jwaaimalspte?  ^unosity,  contentment,  pain, TiT 


ifi«9t».    ^<  .>'-'..         ^    . 


i.,!V.ii^i.' 


/. 


f 


222 


PARHELIA. 


proach,  despair^  even  resignation  I  thought,  I  saw  on 
this  seal's  face.  ^. 

"About  half  an  hour  afterward,  I  killed  another. 
Scurvy  and  sea-life  craving  for  fresh  meat  led  i|ie  to 
it;  but  I  shot  him  dead. 

"  On  returning  to  the  ship,  I  found  one  toe  frost-bit- 
ten— a  tallow-looking  dead  man's  toe — which  was 
restored  to  its  original  ugly  vitality  by  snow-rubbing. 
Served  me  right ! 

"'Spent  the  afternoon  in  unsuccessful  seal  stalking, 
and  in  rigging  and  contriving  a  spring-gun  for  the  Arc- 
tic foxes :  a  blood-thirsty  day.  ;^ut  we  ate  of  fox  to- 
day for  dinner ;  and  behold,  and  it  was  gpod. 

"October  5,  Satufday.  The  wind  evidently  freshens 
up.  The  day  has  been  bitterly  cold.  Although  our 
lowest  temperature  was  zero  and  — V,  we  felt  it  far 
more  than  the  low  temperature  of  yesterday.  Our 
maximum  was  as  high  as  4° ;  yet,  with  this,  it  required 
active  motion  on  deck  to  keep  one's  self  warm. 

"At  12h.  55m.,  we  liad  an  interval  of  clear  sunshine. 
The  utmost,  however,  to  which  it  would  raise  one  of  ^ 
the  long  register  Smithsonian  thermometers  was  7°. 
The  air  was  filled  with  bright  particles  of  frozen  moist- 
ure,  which  glittered  in  the  sunshine — a  shimmering 
of  transparent  dust.* 

"At  the  same  time,  we  had  a  second  exhibition  of 
parhelia,  not  so  vivid  in  prismatic  tints  as  that  of  the 
30th  of  September,  but  more  complete.  The  sun  was 
expanded  in  a  bright  glare  of  intensely- white  light, 
and  was  surrounded  by  two  distinct  concentric  circles, 
delicately  tinted  on  their  inner  margins  with  the  red 
of  the  spectrum.    The  radius  of  the  inner,  as  measured 

•  TJnder  the  microscope  these  again  showed  obscure  modifications  of  the  hex- 

-  syw.  . -- , . ■  ,  ■      ,...,.     . ' 


y.*\. 


\ 


ICE    CHANOES. 


223 


by  the  sextant  was  22°  04';  that  of  the  outer,  40°  W 

oCthepircle^.     '^^'''"^^  ^^^  *^«  ^^o^^ontal  diameters 

ty'Sh?  JIm'  P^^"*rfi«<-rsection  were  marM 
by  bright  parbeha;  each  parhelion  having  its  circum 

he^  wh.ch  may  ha^e  oorreqK,nded  to  iC2^  Z 
tote  otthissupplementel  circle  were  very  bririit    Thl' 
The  strange  openings  in  the  water  ofa  few  S 

<«.^Weares;Si:ar^S^^^^ 
"The  strong  floe  of  ice-table  under  iV« +nWo       j 

and  tohberate  us,  some  fearful^isruption  mu  ?tak« 
.-- uiaua,4iK«a  ftttl©  peninsoIST  cape.     T-^  ~ 


224 


DRIFTING    SOUTH. 


^W- 


"  Jo  the  south  every  thing  is  in  drifting  motion- 
water,  sludge,  frost-smoke — but  no  seals 

"We  caught  a  poor  little  fox  to-day  in  a  dead^-falj. 
We  ate  him  as  an  anti-scorbutic. 

"  October  6,Sundq^,  A  dismal  day ;-  the  wind  howl- 
ingj  and  the  snow,  Ane  as  flour,  drifting  into  every 
chink  and  cranny.  The  cold  quite  a  nuisance,  al- 
though the  meroury  is  up  again  to  +6°.  It  is  blowing 
a  gale.  What  if  the  floe,  in  which  we  are  providen- 
tially glued,  should  tabp  it  into  its  head  to  break  off, 
and  carry  us  on  a  cruise  before  the  wind ! 

"  8  P.M.  Took  a  pole,  and  started  off" to  make  a  voy- 
age of  discovery  around  our  floe.  ^  After  some  weary" 
walking  over  hunmiocks,  and  some  uncomfortable  sous- 
ings in  the  snow-dUst,  found  that  our  cape  has  dwin- 
dled to  an  isthmus.  In  the  pidst  of  snow  and  haze, 
of  course,  I  did  not  venture  across  to  the  other  ice. 

"  We  look  now  anxiously  at  the  gale— turning  in, 
clothes  on,  so  as  to  be  ready  for  changes. 

"12  Midnight.  They  report  us  adrifl;.  Wind,  a 
gale  from  the  northward  and  westward.  An  odd  cruise 
this!  The  American  expedition  fast  in  a  lump  of  ice 
about  as  big  as  Washington  Square,  and  driving,  like 
the  shanty  on  a  raft,  before  a  howling  gale. 

"  October  7,  Monday.  Going  on  deck  this  morning, 
a  new  coast  met  my  eyes.  Our  little  matrix  of  ice 
had  floated  at  least  twenty  miles  to  the  south  from 
yesterday's  anchorage.  The  gale  continues ;  but  the 
day  is  beautifully  clear,  and  we  have  neared  the  west^ 
ern  coast  enough  to  recognize  the  features  of  the  lime- 
stone cliffs,  although  many  a  wrjnkle  of  them  is  now 
pearl-powdered  with  snow-drift. 

*'  Prominent  among  these  was  Advance  Bluff";  and 
=^iG  the  south  of  it»  a  great  iadeatatioa  ia^the  limestoii 


DRlPT—wiNTER. 


225 


ZZD 

off,  Poi/t  uCZlZTl^T'Tr-     J'"'*""' 
Graves ;'  and M^i^wn         '"^'°  '*«''  »'' ' *he 

^outhw^rd  a.d  wfu^rf^ttht"''?''''"'' '"  *"" 
to  be  Barlow's  Inlet  *  ^P'"'"  ™PPoseS 

a  latitude  of  74°  54'  07"     Th         *'™™«).  gmng  us 
place  was  i„  latitnVe  75°  24  ^rN"'^'***'  ™f  "S" 

Will  ea^  us  ^^C^ZtT^  "^^ 

■s  Lancaster  Sognd  ,iw^     P*"^  "'^ '™  *«  the  south 

"  To-day  .eemedliwr^'  '^''f  "<»»>*«  »*  +8°. 
from  ourrece^rtu'*!!  "^  f  «"!  ^ndkerchief 
Yet  the  Skies  0^^  bTt„  n!^^'  "  ''''''™'^  «•'»»• 
pinks,  and  the  sun  alhlVt  ft  I*  T"™  »<''"^™  «•» 
out  in  full  brUtn^  t/  ""  *  '"^'j'  »'«"«>«.  ^^one 
however,  s,^St  ^rf).    7^  '  """'^^'y  of  warmth, 

full  raafance  ofts'dl  tf^iT""'  "^{^  *»  '^ 
erees:  from  +7°  toV  T„ f^'  f°™-  """t  *^»  <»«• 
heautiful  to  rememW    ^"  T     ""^  this,  the  day  was 

*ch  we  o„rrxxsrw:2''r'' f  ^^ 

are  shut  out  •  a  fti,rf,„„      *  ^^^e.  world  from  which  we 


^^  "^"Skt  ahve  in  a  trap  this 


i 


f':^^/  "•  •■^rr'.- 


...  \ 


■A.) 


226  '   OUR    FOX.  .  '  - 

7^  -  '     '  ' 

morning.  He  was  an  astute-visaged  little  scamp ;  and 
although  the  chains  of  captivity,  ma4e  of  spun-yam 
and  leather,  set  hardly  upon  him,  he  could  spare 
ahundant  leisure  for  bear  bones  and  snow.  He  would 
drink  no  'i^^ter.  His  cry  resembled  the  inter-parox- 
ysmal  yell  ^f  a  very  small  boy  undergoing  spanking. 
The  note  came  with  an  impulsive  vehemence,  that 
expressed  not  only  fear  and  pain,  but  a  very  tolerable 
spice  of  anger  and  ill-temper." 

He  was  soon  reconciled,  however.    The  very  next 
day  he  was  tame  enough  to  feed  from  the  hand,  and 
had  lost  all  that  startled  wildness  of  look  which  is  sup- 
posed  to  characterize  his  tribe.    He  wasevidently  un-' 
used  to  man,  and  without  the  educated  instinct  of 
flight    Twice^  when  suffered  to  escape  from  the  ves- 
sel,  he  was  caught  in  our  traps  the  same  night.    In- 
deed,  the  white  foxes  of  this  region— we  carfght  more 
than  thirty  of  them-rseemed  to  look  at  us  with  more 
curiosity  than  fear.    They  would  come  directly  to  the 
ship's  side ;  and,  though  startled  at  first  when  we  fired 
at  them,  soon  came  back.    They  even  suflfered  us  to 
approach  them  almost  within  reach  of  the  hand,  ran 
around  us,  as  we  gave  the  halloo,  in  a  narrow  circle, 
but  stopped  as  soon  as  we  were  still,  and  stared  us  in- 
quisitively  in  the  face.    One  little  fellow,  when  we  let 
him  loose  on  the  ice  after  keeping  him  prisoner  for  a 
day  or  two,  scampered  back  again  incontinently  to  his 
oubby-hole  on  the  deck.    There  may  be  matter  of  re- 
flection  for  the  naturalist  in  this.    Has  this  animal 
no  natural  enemy  but  famine  and  cold?    The  foxes 
ceased  to  visit  us  soon  after  this,  owing  probably  to 
the  uncertain  ice  between  us  and  the  shore :  th^  toe 
-masters. 


■iM& 


1*> 


^- 


V 


■t^ 


^- 


|^"J.FJ'     fT*V^* 


^18™"*^" 


"Mif  ; 


CHAPTER  XXVIII.  . 

Channel.  Ocoaa.onally  a  strong  southerly  wLdwS 

»Ctne';  of  theZ r  "thXr  *"""  ?"  ^«"«» 
"Y-0  tHe  force  of'T'^tot  r^'Z^t 
sisting  our  progress  in  that  direction  Anrrt^  T 
wmd,  on  the  other  hand,  seemed  th.™  „or«l'' 
actmg  influences.    A  little  while  aolr  ^i^      I' 

Our  thoughts  turned  ^MhwZ^^^  ?'  '""*''• 
of  Lancaster  Sound,  Xh  1^  tu'   a"^  "^T^ 

Wi*  this  feeling  came  an  increasing  desire  f^  „„™ 

rritout  TheReiXd;::ircr::r 

jytte  party  through  the  leads,  and,  on^ltTeH' 
X^ri^ "Th ""  ^'"J  "  "«"*  *«'"*  »" » 

tions  incident     Th.^       f  *  *"°"  ""y  »  ™*»- 

Pj„rt.   °T™  ..  '  '!'*?  T^^  my  ^^Lof  thin  cotton 
-  ■...  w  .uai      weighed,  when  completed,  but'foui; 


.ir 


228 


SHORE    INACCESSIBLE. 


'V 


teen  pounds,  soaking  it  thoroughly  in  a  composition 
of  caoutchouc,  ether,  and  linseed  oil,  the  last  in  quaij- 
tity.  After  it  was  finished  and  nearly  dried,  I  wra^ 
ped  it  up  in  a  dry  covering  of  coarse  muslin,  and  placed 
it  for  the  night  in  a  locked  closet,  at  some  distance 
from  the  cook's  galley,  where  the  temperature  was  be- 
tween  80°  and  90°.  In  the  morning  it  was  destroyed. 
The  wrapper  was  there,  retaining  its  form,  and  not 
discolored ;  but  the  outer  folds  of  the  tent  were  smok- 
ing; and,  as  I  unrolled  it,  fold  after  fold  showed  more 
and  more  marks  of  combustion,  till  at  the  centre  it 
was  absolutely  charred.    There  was  neither  flame  nor 

spark.  *" 

In  a  few  days  more  the  tumult  of  the  ice-fields  had 
made  all  chance  of  reaching  the  shore  hopeless.  But 
the  mean  time  was  not  passed  without  efforts. 

''October  23.  I  started  with  a  couple  of  men  on  an- 
other attempt  to  reach  the  shore.  After  five  miles  of 
walking,  with  recurring  altematioils  of  climbing,  leap, 
ing,  rolling,  and  soaking,  we  found  that  the  ice  had 
driven  out  from  the  coast,  and  a  black  lane  of  open 
water  stopped  our  progress.  This  is  the  seventh  at- 
tempt ta  cross  the  ice,  all  meeting  with  failure  from 
the  same  cause.  The  motion  of  ice,  influenced  by 
winds,  tides,  and  currents,  keeps  constantly  fading 
the  shore-line.  Any  outward  drift,  of  course,  makes 
an  irregular  lane  of  w^ter,  which  a  single  night  con- 
verts into  ice  ;  the  returi^ing  floes  heap  this  in  tables 
one  over  another ;  and  the  next  outward  set  carries  off 
the  floes  again,  crowned  with  their  new  increment. 

"The  haze  gathered  around  us  about  an  hour  after 

starting,  and  the  humtnooks  were  so  covered  with  snow 

that  the  chasms  often  received  us  middle  deep.    We 

— walked  fiv©^houfs  and  a  halt,  making  in.  all  nutei 


AN    ICE    TRAMP. 


229 


miies;  and  even  then  wer«  «f  i      . 

beach.  "^^'^  **  ^east  a  mile  from  the 

"At  one  portion  of  our  route  fh«;     u  j   , 
sugar  character;  the  Juml  ^  ^^  ^^^  *^«  «^"«hed 

smallcantalouD^fpa  '"217^*"^  ^"  «^^«  fr««i  a 
^^*«^  ^*  zero  cH^r  n '^°"'  ^"*  ^'^'^  ^  frozen 
m  tiptoe  styj^^^^ll    ".''^''  **»"  «t"ff  we.waiked 

"At  anoth^^a7  T"'^^^'  '^y^^  i*  was. 
the  fractured  WS^ml  ""'^^  *"^  *  h»i^,  we  trod  on 

stones;  toss  t^^^^'^'T  .  ^^'^^  *^«««  ^^'^^ 

that  their  ed^sTalTt«  ?"""' ^^^^^^  ^^^^^i"?  care 

withflour  cooled  down  toS""!!'  '"^*  *^««^  -- 
loose,  in  the  centre  of  a  mi:;'^  ^^^  if'^  ^^  wretch 
way  over  them  to  the  shore!  "^  ^°'  *  P**^- 

"At  another  place  brfint  iJ,o*      ^ 
".a^se,  of  ice,  let  m  up  anT^o^^r^T'*' '"''"'»'' 

dunes  of  old  seasoned  hnm.l'^r  ™™' '"«'  '""•"'e'l 
Sl-e.  Again,  it  is  ove'  srwlC""^  *f  ^'^'"-^ 
"cant  and  sufficiently  crusT;  LT    "''  "'^*' <» ''""^, 

-;:;.outi..„,uLs™:^^--;-:; 

covered  with  snow  to  k*.«,. ,      7         *^^'  J"s*  enough 

«S  with  a  fine  bracins  ^^2  *  """''•    O™' 

«"«  exercise,  and  the  W^^C^^^'T^  ""^""^  *"" 

'■"«  tif  xrf:::*faiiiS"*''  r  ^-"""-"^ 

jtimdiced.    Snown?^-         '■f'"""   *'>«  rf ^How 


*--^^^5^r^eS:^ 


// 


// 


f 


230 


WINTERY    SIGNS* 


son,  a  Livournese,  rejoiced  in  a  couple  of  barbaric 
pendules,  doubtless  of  bad  gold,  but  good  conducting 

power."  -* 

The  indications  of  winter  were  still  becoming  more 
and  more  marked.  On  the  11th,  the  sun  rose  but  9» 
at  meridian;  on  the  15th  but  6°;  and  on  the  7th  of  No- 
vember,  at  the  same  hour,  it  almost  rested  on  the  ho- 
rizon.  The  daylight,  however,  was  sometimes  strange- 
ly  beautiful.  One  day  in  particular,  the  8th,  a  rosy 
tint  diffused  itself  over  every  thing,  shaded  off  a  little 
at  the  zenith,  but  passing  dpwn  from  pink  to  violet 
and  from'violet  to  an  opalescent  purple,  that  banded 
the  entire  horizon. 

The  moon  made  its  appearance  on  the  13th  ot  Uc- 
tober     At  first  it  was  like  a  bonfire,  warming  up  the 
ice  with  a  red  glare ;  but  afterward,  on  the  15th,. whej) 
it  rose  to  the  height  of  4°,  it  silvered  the  hummocks 
and  frozen  leads,  and  gave  a  softened  lustre  to  the 
snow  through  which  our  two  little  brigs  stood  out  in 
black  and  solitary  contrast.     The  stars  seemed  to  have 
lost  their  twinkle,  ancLto  shine  with  concentrated 
.  brightness  as  if  through  gimlet-holes  in  the  cobalt  can- 
ouy.    The  frost-smoke  scilrcely  left  the  field  of  view. 
It  generally  hung  in  wreaths  around  the  %izon ;  but 
•  it  sometimes  took  eccentric  forms;  andlone  night  I 
remember,  it  piled  itself  iAto  a  column  at  the  west,  aiid 
Aquila  flamed  above  it  like  a  tall  bfeacon-light.    We 
were  glad  to  note  these  f^ciful  resemblances  to  the 
aspects  of  a  more  kindly  region;  ^W  withdrew  us 
sometimes  from  the  sullen  realities  of  the  world  that 
•  encompassed  us-ice,  frost-smoke,  and  a  threatening 

^  We  had  parhelia  Jjraln  mor^  thtn  once,  but  d^ 


oped  imperfectly;  a  mSs  o£ incandescence  22°, 


WINTERY    SIGNS. 


231,>, 


the  sun,  with  prismatic  coloring  but  wifhnnf  fi.     '- 
cular  and  radial  appearances  thft  h«/i        !      ^  ^''■ 
before.     On  the  27th  a  n«^    i  .  characterized  it 

the  first  we  obsLfedirrl  M^^  I^We, 

arcs,  destitute  of  prismaTc^^nVt  teWn^ ,  ."'  '"'^" 
flexes  at  about  23°  dkf««         stretching  hke  circum- 

the  moon  about fo^  hthth  '"  '''^  "^^  *^«  «^««-' 
eter30°55;atm  sXretLf  ~^^^^  T^^^  Wom- 
ly  afterward,  it  shone  out  wifh  T     ^^  ^^"^""^  «^«^ 

While  but  diW  a^^rthTta^xrr^  ^-  ^ 

The  thermometer  was  now  ffenerallv  ihli       .V 
point,  sometimes  rising  for  a  S^letZtZr"" 
fewdegreesaboveit,on5eonIyashiIhas  +100*  "tT"  * 
there  was  no  wind,  even  the  lo^eft^l     '    ^^'" 
quite  bearable  •  and  v^hu^  ""  ^^^est  ol  its  range  was 

ly,  it  was  dil  t  retveThaTor^'T^  ^^*^^- 
be  so  strikingly  in  con^^rJff h  .u  TT''''  ^""^^ 
ature.    But  a  breeze  „r!  *he  absolute  temper- 

ut  a  oreeze,  or  a  pause  of  motinn  +ni  , 
could  raise  the  sextanf  f«  f   *  motion  till  we 

suade  us,  and  that  feelinffly  tlTZ  ^  ^'"■ 

honest.  Night  after  mJhttl'  u7  .  '"^""'ry  was 
feet ;  and  a  Zl^yt'ttXTt  'T  "'  ""^ 
at  the  head  of  the  canteinl  h    T         "*'"''''  """t  % 

0f.heskyJ.tartedX4'Ltin7:»t^T 
Haven  on  a  walk  of  inot^^^f        .  ^  ^^aptain  De 

water,  froeen"I^L"^X tTifr""''-,  '"''«  ""«"' 
thick,  and  at  this  low  ^rtlT  ".T  [  ^  '-* 
hard  and  brittle  as  glass.     WherXl  /if  '  "■"*' 


^ff 


232 


WINTER    ARRANGEMENTS. 


"  The  tension  of  the  great  field  of  ice  over  which  we 
passed  must  have  heen  enormous.  It  had  a  sensible 
curvature.  On  striking  the  surface  with  a  walking, 
pole,  loud  reports  issued  like  a  pistol-shot,  and  Unes  of 
fissure  radiated  from  the  point  of  impact.  It  seemed 
as  if  the  blow  of  an  axe  would  sever  the  keystone,  and 
break  up  by  a  shock  the  entire  expanse.  In  one  place 
the  ice  suddenly  arched  up  like  a  bow  while  we  were 
looking  at  it,  burst  into  fragments,  collapsed  at  the  ex- 
terior margins  of  fracture,  and  by  the  work  of  a  mo- 
ment  created  a  long  barrier  line  of  ruins  ten  feet  high. 
Our  position  was  one  of  peril.  We  had  crossed  two 
miles  of  ice.    A  change  of  tide  relieved,  the  strain,  and 

we  returned. 

*^The  nearest  break-up  to  our  homestead  floe  is 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  off.  It  is  now  to 
the  south ;  though  our  position,  constantly  changing, 
alters  the  bearing  by  the  hour.  Very  many  of  the 
masses  that  compose  it  are  as  latge  as  the  grapery  at 
home,  two  hundred  feet  long  perhaps,  and  lifted  up, 
barricade-fashion,  .as  high  as  our  second  story  win- 

dows." 

The  next  day  our  winter  arrangements  were  co, 
CS  pleted.  They  were  simple  enough,  and  hardly  wo 
describing  in  detail.  A  housing  of  thick  felt  was 
drawn  completely  over  the  deck,  resting  on  a  sort  of 
ridge-pole  running  fore  and  aft,  and  coming  down  close 
at  the  sides.  The  rime  and  snow-drift  in  an  hour  or 
two  made  it  nearly  impervious  to  the  weather.  The 
cook's  galley  stood  on  the  kelson,  under  the  main 
h»tch ;  its  stove-pipe  rising  through  the  housing  above, 
and  its  funnel-shaped  apparatus  for  melting  snow  at- 
tached below.  The  ]!)ulkhead8  between  cabin  and 
forecastle  had heeii  removed ;-Biid  two  st ' 


\ 


sanB-storms  op  the'sahara.  233 


.  I 


^confirmed  hyo7L^il""a\t'"'  ""'  '"' 
»«r  approach  to  LawasSlrf.  .*"."'*  ™"*™''>'' 
of  our  drift  afe,  ^rntredTC^tk^''^  7' 
quent  storms  Somo  «f  *i,  '  ,  "*  marked  by  fte- 
tkat  could  Mont^r,  T.""^  ""  *••«  ™Wi»i*y 
discomfort  ThevrlirH^'"^,*r  """"S"  »d 
the  Sahara.  "  TLfine  „1m  °"^  '^xi-t^™'  of 
;«  a  continuous^^^fr  'm:  XtT  fn  ^  "^  "^ 

*««Wie  mterval  Ween  the  Cms^thetZ^ 

In 


234 


THE  CHANNEL  AND  THE  SOUND. 


of  sweeping  snow  were  so  unbroken  that  its  filaments 
seemed  woven  into  a  mysterious  tissue.     Objects  iii^y    ^ 
yards  off  were  invisible:  no  one  could  leave  the  ves. 

sels."  -  •  "  • " 

The  month  of  November  found  us  oscillating  still 
with  the  winds  and  currents  in  tlje  neighborhobd  of 
Be^chy  Island.    Helpless  as  we  were  among  the  float- 
ing masses,  we  began  to  look  upon  the  floe  that  car- 
ried ,us  as  a  protecting  barrier  against  the  approaches 
of  others  Jess  friendly ;  and  as  the  month  advanced, 
and  the  chances  increased  of  our  passing;  iSnto  the 
sound,  our  apprehensions  o^  bfeing  frozen  up  in  "the 
heart  of  the  ice-pack  gave  place  to  the  opposite  feai 
of  a  continuous  drift.     We  had  seen  enough,  and  en- 
countered enough  of  the  angry  strife  among  the  ice- 
floes in  the  channel,  to  assure  us  of  disaster  if  we 
should  be  forced  to  mingle  in  the  sterner  conflicts  of 
the  older  ice-fields  of  the  sound.     Yet,  as  the  new 
fields  continued  forming  about  us,  thickening  gradu- 
ally from  inches  to  feet,  and  locking  together  the  floes 
in  one  great  amprphous  expanse,  we  retained  a  hope  ^ 
to  the  last  that  our  island  floe,  thickeni^  li^e  tlie  rest, 
and  piling  its  wall  of  hummocks  ar(S|tind  us,  would 
continue  to  ward  us  from  attack,  till  the  all-pervading 
frost  had  made  it  %  stationary  part  of  the  great  winter 
covering  of  the  Arctic  Sea.     It  encountered  almost 
daily  immense  hummocks,  some  of  them  impinging 
against  us  while  we  were  apparently  at  rest;  some,  ap- 
parently  motionless,  receiving  the  impact  from  us.   At 
such  times  our  floe  would  be  deflected  at  an  angle 
from  its  normal  course,  or  would  rotate  slowly  round 
its  centre,  and  pass  on — not,  however,  always  in  the 
'    same  direction  ;  sometimes  nearing  the  western^hore, 
^sometimes  closing  in  upon  the  beach  nf  "  tjie  Graves^' 


''«, 


JV'. 

If*' 


*■■': 


i .-" 


.  Ir 


'"% 


old's   island. 


235 

and  sometimes  fluctuatinff  slowlv  f«  ^\         ^^ 

The  chart  opposfe  pagefa  tu  Ihl  '"  . 

nature  of  this  drift.  *  ""^  "apfoious 

ea^t.     On  the  mh  we  were  fairly  in  the  sound     It' 
at    19  ,  and  ^nnk  during  the  night  to  -27» 

■        Ihe  next  day,  however,  a  shift  of  wind^graduallv 
increasing  m  force,  combined  with  a  tidal  iiSnce  to 

wrat":iurtL*:r  "'i'^^"""'-  '^'■'  '"-"--t 

was  at  this  time  lower  than  we  had  ever  seen  it,  and 
the  sky  seemed  to  sympathize  withthe  tempera  „°e 
UUs  Tv       R?  '"  '?  '""''•  ^"^""S  "P»»  «•«  snow: 
mmation     In  the  morning  the  sky  combined  all  the 
tmts  of  the  spectrum  in  regular  zones,  a  broad  band  „f 
orange  girding  the  horizon  with  an  almost  uniform  i^ 
tensity  of  color.     The  stars  shone  during  the  e"t  "e 
day.    At  daybreak  on  the  18th,  Leopold's  Island  ros! 
by  ref^a^tion  above  the  ice,  standing  with  its  unmt 
akable  outline  clearly  black  a^ainsl  the  orange  ski 
but  it  went  down  as  the  sun  neared  theJ»rizon  and 
passed  to  the  south  of  his  low  circuit.    Aurllfor 
tt:  dXttl''""'  ""  "^^  -'"'"'"i"-'-  at 

^Novemher  20, -Wednesday.'The  winds  are  unlike^ 

hj«  encountered  I^arry,  our  only  predecel  t  • 

this,  region  at  Jhis  season  of  the  ^  It  hajJbeen-, 

Tery  providential,  and  very  un.xpecWfor  us,  twfpre 

dommance  of  breezes  from^he  southward  J  eS 

Zmi  ti„    .  T™*°^  T  ''"'■""8  '"*«  *«  dreaded 

SnCn      K    ^  """""''  "■"  P'«'^'<'  Fertane,  into 
Baihn'S  Bay  by  the  easterly  current. 

"  lA/ rt U™J L > _^^ 


V 


^-Wo  had  «  IresTy  pre  ffom  a  F.M.  of  yesterday 


^ 


^ 


.■(t*« 


J«-|. 


•1i' 


•-    I- 


f 


After  this' 


6und 


our. 


(l^th)  un^  this  n^ning 
fri^  south^aMio  easfiiouth  ^ 
Jtgi|iually^|«^way;\ilidnow;at  a  P.M.,w«^have 
a  i^Me  bree-feJSdm  the  same,%i*w:ter.    Jk»^B«|P<l  ^^s 
•|Mi.axbrthsi|^%'*|#^;*    \,:f«-    ^ 
"^     i«OuftemperS^p^«&Mi^'.P^8-27°, 
the  )()*vrest  we  iiaye:|j^e#lecor 


ilkt  mil  close  of 
ts  ej^treme  was  -4°. 


»■  .1 


^i^^  day  but -6°  5% 

^^  by  gradual  elevation,  it  has  reached  zero. 
**  Zero  onee  more,  and,^  positive  sensation  oif  warmth ! 
V^l'here  was  fto  wind;  an4  the  haze  vapors  so  softened 
'^'"this  once  greatest  coW,  tjtot  I  walked  about  with  bare 
hands  and  sweating  bo^ 

"The  daylight  is  hardt|.  now  worthy  of  the  name, 
according  to  the  Philadelplua  notions  of  the  blessing; 
,    but  to  us  it  is  the  last  leaf  ^  the  sibyl.     Here  is  a  lit- 
'  tie  record  of  its  incomings  and  outgoings. 
^  "■   "9  A.M.  Breajtfast  over  JS  furs  on ;  'deck  covered  in 
;  with  black  felt,  th^  frozen  condensation  patching  it 
with  large  white  wafers  of  snow.  "^  A  lantern  makes  it 
barely  light  enough  to  walk.     No  red  streak  to  the 
ea;^^-<aie  misty  haze  of  visible  darkness. 
"     "10  A.M.  A  twilight  gloom :  can  just  see  the  Azi- 
muth, with  its  tripod  stand,  thirty  yards  oflF  on  the  ice. 
Snow  whirling  in  drifts. 

"11  A.M.  Can  read  newspaper  print  by  going  to 
open  daylight,  t.  e.,  twilight— the  twilight  of  a  foggy 
sunrise  at  home. 


"  12  M.  Noonday, 
above  the  mist  to  the 
from  the '  foggy 
tible  diflference  i 
easily. 

-All 


^fik  of  brown  red  looms  up 

Save  a  little,  more  light   ^ 
fl  A.M.,  no  great  percep-    *|| 
"now  read  the  finest  print 


^Mr^V^ 


iv 


..J  .■    '  • 


<« 


THE  Daylight. 


237 


I* 


corresponding  hour  before  meridian     n 
difficalty  the  newsoaner    r  ?;,    ^^  ^^'^  ^'tt 

"2  PM    I  r     '?T~^"''<'"  ™»^*«»t«l  News 

ligkter  than  tK4:„^^l7  ^^I  ^^^  "  is  far 

1  lus  IS  a  fair  specimen  of  our  usual  dar     Tl. 
casional  clear  day,  snch  as  we  had  2emh'  r  ^^  ^ 
«  and  f„„  „f  ™ri,,y  ^,,  .J^y-  I8th,  rsfa,  hght- 

circle,  as'withnsTa'iv    r'""""""^  ^P''^'''-  n"*  » 

™iwu!;fo™\tdXT  'r- "  ^-r  -"" » 

las  its  extension  or  its  u^ltmir  Th  "'  ""T  ^''' 
fa  an  unbroken  tint,  risinrfZ'^;  ™'"''  "^'^ 

wnn^mellowinff  int^  ll       ,  ""'  "*  ^'^ "  '•''«' 
an  orange  yellol  wM  h      '         '""''"«''  "S"'"  ""o 

.adatio^of^ItlinttteXiirlr  t"^'  ^ 
absorbs  all  perception  of  other  light     ^'  ^''^  "«>''» 

-«9»ious.iS 2    f       '7  '^■'"o  <"•  •'<>»'.  but  I  am 

fmmarSkfof^C^J-    ^^  the  northward, 

«lon«'>-*alone  save  tlSiV.     ,™""   ''''"«*''•<'''»'« 

"orthwa^rjth    S'^t-fe^*'"  *»  «■« 
floutL    ^  •      ^  '^^  ^^  ^®^  sunrise  at  the 

■M-- 

^^^^^•^^^^«  «5We  Side,  and  moW  bright 


of* 


^.  «^^ 


^ 


23d 


MOONLIGHT. 


on  the  Othet :  moonlight  and  s^lllight  blemd  overhead. 
To  the  north  and  south,  each  keeps  its  separate  do. 
minion.     I  read  the  finest  print  readily. 

«12M  Walked  out  to  see  thrice.  I  have  no  change 
of  words  left  to  describe  noon(|Ay.  The  sunlight  zone 
of  color  Was  more  light  and  less  bright,  perhaps-and 
the  mooii^was  more  bright  and  less  light,  perhaps ;  bu; 

both  were  there.  ,     ,    x  xi, 

«« 1  P  M  The  light  hardly  dimmed  ;  but  the  moon 
shines  out"so  emulously,  that  it  is  hard  to  measure  the 

^"»  2  P  M  It  18  evidently  nflonger  day,  although  the 
southwestern  horizon  is  flar.^d  with  red  streaks,  and  a 
softening  of  yellow  into  the^  blue  of  heaven  says  that 
the  sun  is  somewhere  belo^^  it.  The  moon  has  con- 
fused  the  day ;  and  comind  as  she  does  at  this  com- 
mencement  of  our  long  nigh^,  1  bless  her  foir  the  grate- 
ful  service.  I  make  my  four  to  six  hours  of  daily 
walk,  and  hardly  miss  the  guidance  of  day 
«3  P.M.  Moonlight!!"    ^ 


^ 


'M. 


s  •■.■•■*. ^f^r^l****"*^-* 


■"  "f?*^  •^'^•iw£!j2^!*^ 


}'^ 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

^^Novemher22.  I  walked  yesterday,  and  to-day  ac^ain 
^.  the  open  water  that  separates  us.from  Wellington 
Channel.     It  is  a  bold  and  rapid  river,  as  broad  as  the 
Delaware  a  X|;enton  or  the  Schuylkill  at  Philadelphia 
ro  hng  wildly  between  dislocated  hunnnock  cragsf  and 
whirling  along  m  its  black  current  the  abraded  frag- 
ments  of  its  shores.     Ice  of  recent  growth  had  cemenl 
ed  he  gnarled  masses  about  its  margin  into  a  ragged 
wall  some  twenty  feet  high,  and  perhaps  thirty  paces 
wuie.     I  stood  with  perfect  safety  on  a  tall,  spirLke 
pnmacle,  and  endeavored  to  trace  its  course.     It  cfuld 
be  seen  reaching  from  a  remote  point  in  the  southeast! 
ern  part  of  the  channel,  and  is  probably  ddnnected  with^ 
the  open  shore  leads  that  stretch  from  Cape  Riley  past 
Cape  Spencer  toward  the  further  coasts  of  North  Dev 
an.    It  passed  about  a  mile  and  a  half  to  the^  north- 
west  of  our  vessels,  and  was  lost  in  the  distant  ice- 
nelds  to  the  east. 

"Returning  with  Captain  De  Haven,  we  saw  the 
ecent  prints  of  a  bear  and  two  cubs,  that  had  evident- 
ly  been  scenting  our  foot-marks  of  the  day  before^Bil 
old  bear  was  not  large,  measuring  by  her  trail  onlf^ 
leet  four  inches  ;  thei  young  ones  so  small  as  to'sur- 
prise  us.  their  track  not  much  bigger  than  that  of  a 

?:tr;^ut^ 

;i  have  been  for  some  evenings  giving  lectures  on 
_^6s  of  popular  science,  the  atmosphere,  the  barom- 
eter,  &c.,  to  the  crew.     They  are  not  a  ^^r^: 


■'>? 


*a 


M 


■■) 


'^' 


V 


LANCASTER    SOUND. 


ual  audience,  but  they  listen  with  apparent  interest, 
and  express  themselves  gratefully. 

"November  25.  Great  clouds  of  dark  vapor  were  seen 
to  the  |^^y|^Myk^-<l^iy>  ^he  crape-wreaths  of  our  first 
impiiwIPrasntrThis^ost-Smoke  is  an  unfailing  indi-  - 
cation  of  qpen  Water,  and  to  us,  poor  prison-bputid  va-  ♦ 
grants,  is  suggestive  of  things  not  pleasant  ^*sthink 
about.     It  streamed  away  on  theP  wind  iMHack  drifts. 

"  Our  daylight  to-day  was  a  mere  name,'  three  arid 
a  half  hours  of  meagre  twilight.  I  was  struck  for  the 
first  time  with  the  bleached  faces  of  niy  mess-maifces. 
The  sun  left  us  finally  dnly  sixteen  days  ago ;  but  fbr 
some  time  beflflrft  he  had  been  very  chary  of  his  eiTect- 
ive  rayMj  an<l  our  abidirtg-place  below  hfts  a  smoky 
atmosphere  of  lamplit  uncomf(^toleness.  No  t^^der 
w6  grow  pale  with  such  a  cosmetic.  Seventy-piipn 
days  more  without  a  sunrise!  twenty-six  before 
reach  the  solstitial  point  of  greatest  darkness ! 

"The  temperature  continues  singularly  mild.  Pa 
ry^a|  Melville  Island,  had  -,47°  b^%re  this,  twenty  de- 
^es'iower  than^-puir  minimum  ;  and  even  in  the  more 
•  Bpnthern  regipns  <^f  Port  Bowen  and  Prince  Regent's 
"Straits,  the  cold  was  much  grater.  For  some  days 
now,  zero  has  not  been  an  tmcommon  temperature; 
and  to-day  we  are  in^-:^14°,  here  far  from  unpleasantly 
cold.  Mf^  not  much  of  this  moderated  intensity  of 
the  w^athe^0^*teferfed  t0<i€lle  i^uence  of  the  open 
watet  arcWttUfe"^  „*^ 

'^i||  are  strllan  our  old  neighborhood,  at  the  brink 
of  tlpRia^el,  a  mile  Qr  so  from  Cape  Riley,  and  both 
shoi^  in  view.  , 

"November  28.  The  sunlight,  a  mere  band  of  red 
cloud ;  the  day,  a  poor  apology.  Walked  eastward 
toward  Beechy  Island,  dimly  seen.     The  ice  river  is 


S 


it  .'  , 


/ 


ICE     TOPOQRAPHY. 


241 


\''t 


wZr„1rtSf  aT'^tr^^^  '"""  ^e  west. 

.he  north  d^ive':\lt:rr.^r '  *°^  '""^  ^ 
aid  of  the  current  to  kJT,,T  '  **"  "^'"^^  '" 
toward  Baffin  "J"  ""  """•«■  ""d  «Peed  u,  back 

"Our  therm6meter  does  not  fall  below  - ,  i o  "  tu 
ftost-smpke  is  ,11  around  usin  bZT  >  "j      ^""^ 
Can  it  be  that  we  are  a#„  in  a\    u    ."^-''o'ored  vapor. 

ent^to,,tberofreI7'"w  trh''T''r"''- 

in.  th"e";^;g t;;^:  z:'ti:r\'  ""^ "'» ^"■''^ 

«e  my  elemLs  ■'"'""' "*'<'''"<=«•  Here 
m2  Jhau!  tot^rJ't';  -  and  edge-hum. 
sons  ffrowth      S«voroi  i  ""^re^an  ot  this  sea- 

W;  one.  the  i^^XtZTty'^^'ZTT'-j?- 
water-lead  margined  bv  rnlh  'f  *  high.    Tire 

Wto  the  we/wa  d  aL  "outhwTdt^  T  '""*' 
ward  and  east w«r^  f         southward  from  the  south. 

Bistaneet;X  ;^^^^^^^^  ^  '^'"  ^^^^  horseshoe. 

"2.  To  the  south;  over  long  floes  of  recerfL. 
«now.covered,  and  smooth,  lithtwl^M^f 
heavy  pressure  at  their  iunction.  ?  "^.'Wi^ns  <^f 
water,  glazed  over  ^ith  you^Tc;  f^^^^T  ^  "P^" 
of  this  lead  east  andW  t.  ^  ^^"^  ''  ^'""^ 
north  and  south  is  thl       •,     .  ^'^"^^^^  «^*h«  Aoe, 

"3.  To  the  ealt  T       1^''"^  ^"^^  ^  ^^*«r. 
mixed  ice   with   iL t ""'*^'^'*  ^^  '^'^'  ^ough, 
Thickness'of"  e  aZfc""^  ^^^  ^"— ^- 


-.1^0  01  thoeailyiiartol  last  August.    Dist^ee 


.r.Sfc--.,. 


\»^ 


242 


LANCASTER    SOUND. 


to  open  river,  one  at^^  three  fourtts  to  two  miles 
Marks  of  recent  action  excessive  iiere ;  hummock 
banks  massive ;  and^  tables  sometimes  five  feet  thick, 
rising  to  a  height  ot  eighteen  feet  From  the  east  and 
northeast,  the  tre^d  of  the  break  is  to  the  southward 
at  first,  and  son^  two  miles  below  to  the  westward, 

"  4.  To  the  ivest ;  over  the  broken  region  of  varied 
ice,  traveled  f  ver  in  my  atitempts  to  reach  Barlow's 
inlet  some  4ay8  ago.  Distance ,  to  lead,  one  mile. 
Chasm  verV  irregular ;  but  from  the  poiiit  I  visited  at 
the  nortV  and  east,  trending  nearly  duo  west,  and 
pointing^ to  thq  southward  of  Cape  Hothami 

"From  all  this  it  is  clear  enough  that  we  are  a  mov. 
ing  floe,  comparatively  isolated.  The  only  point  of 
our  circumscribed  horizon  I  have  not  visited,  and  where 
no  frost-smoke  asserts  the  near  proximity  of  water,  is 
the  northwest.  Whether  on  that  side  the  ice  of  Lp- 
caster  is  blocked  against  us  by  the  easterly  current,  or 
whether  the  frost  has  made  our  floe  one  more  speck 
in  the  massive  field,  is  the  only  question  remaining. 

''November  29.  The  doubt  is  gone.  Our  floe,  ice- 
cradle,  safeguard,  has  been  thrown  round.  Its  eastern 
margin  is  grinding  its  way  to  the  northward,  and  the 
west  is  already  pointing  to  the  south.  Our  bow  is  to 
Baffin's  Bay,  and  we  are  traveling  toward  it.  So  far, 
ours  has  been  a  mysterious  journeying.  For  two' 
months  and  more,  not  a  sail  has  fluttered  from  our 
frozen  spars ;  yet  we  have  passed  from  Lancaster 
Sound  into  the  highest  latitude  of  Wellington  Chan- 
nel,  one  never  attained  before,  and  have  been  borne 
back  again  past  our  point  of  starting,  along  a  capri. 
ciously  varied  line  of  drift.  Cape  Riley  is  bearing,  by 
compass,  S.  i  E.,  N.N.E  i  E.  (true) ;  and  Beechy  Head, 
.::^  compass,  SJI^i.EM^^i^E^(toie)-^-  Cape  Kurd  k 


Pii  .1 


liNOASTER    SOUND. 


243 


™>He  to  the  northward  and  eastward,  and  to  the  east' 
are  the  .ce-clogged.  waters  of  Lancaster  Sound 
"  November  30.  When  I  «.„„  „„  ^^^  a^^,;^ 

erii  sKy  Had  not  even  a  trace  of  rerl      n.,,.  i      j  l    . 
slewfiJrnihor  «,       A    ^,  ,'""'*'  "I  *ea.     Uur  head  had 
siewea  rather  more  to  the  southwarH  *  *,*,/!    «• 
starboard  beo^  sundry  i^^iZl^  ^^ZZ 
3^io^  walked  t.*ard  thlt^uo^; 

Off  nVj,    if  ^.^''"'  hazy  north-^stUI  opVn  water 

as.   ;^a]king  after  brffakfasi  toward  fh^  «  ^i.      !  !        ' 
breaking  at  their  suinrnits  fell  nff  n^       i    ' .       ' 


■■^:i 


'* 


244 


ICE    BREAKIliG    UP. 


hf  ;..■ 


/ 


thickness  by  twenty  of  perpendicular  height,  and  some 
of  them  fifteen  yards  in^ngth,  surging  up  into  thfe 
misty  air,  heaving,  rolJing,  tottering,  and  falling  with 
a  majestic  deliberation  worthy  of  the  fdrces  that  i^n- 
pelled  them.     When  a  huge  block  would  rise  verti- 
cally,  tremble  for  a  moment-,  and  toppfe  over,  you  heard 
the  iieavy  sough  of  the  snow-padding  that  received  it ; 
but  this  was  only  the  deep  bass  accompaniment  to  a 
wild,  yet  not  unmusical  chorus.     I  can  not  attempt  to 
describp  the  sounds.     T^Jiere  wa»^the-i;ijiging,  chatter 
of  ice,  made  friable  by  the  intense  cold  and  crumbling' 
under  lateral  force ;  the  low  wiiine  whiclfi  the  ice  g'ives 
out  when  we  cuttt  at  right  angles  with  a  ^h^^rp  kfiife, 
rising  sometimes  into  a  shriek,  or  sinking  to  the  plaint- 
ive outcry  of  our  night-hawk  at  home ;  the  whirr,  of 
rapidly-urged  machinery,  theKumofmultMdes.-.ajid  ' 
all  these  mingled  with  tones  that  Vve  ffo  analog|^, 
among  the  familiar  ones  of  unad\'«nturous  liftf.         ,. 
"  So  slowly  and'  regularly  did  these  masse^pll^s^, 
break,  and  fall,  that,  standing  upon  abroad>t)Iefice* 
pole  in  air,  we  rolled  when  it  rolled,  rose  whlli-i 
balanced  when  it^broke,  and  jumped  as  it  tell. « 
wo^uld  our  quietpeople  in  brick  houses  say  to 
ride  ?    *Tempera%re  at  30°  below  zero. 

"On  deck;  looming  up  in  the  very  midst  of  the 
haze,  land  !  so  high  ^nd  close  on  our  poft  beam,  that 
we  felt  like  men  under  aprecinice.'  We  could- setf  • 
the  vertical  crevices  in  the  limeslo<»B,  the  recesses  con- 
trasting in  Ijlack  shadow.  Whai^  lanxijte  this  ?  Is  it 
the  eastern  line,  of,  Gape^' Riley  or  h^e  we  reachedj^.. 
,  Cape  Ricketts?    :  ,  *  ]'  ft         .  ^  .'  ^^^ 

"  Tliere  is  one  thing  tolerably  certain  :  the  Gryjnell 
/expedition  is  quite  as  likely, to  be  searched  for  herfe^ 


-; 


after  m  to  s««Tefe. 
drift  is  an  ugly  on>en} 


John  ErankliilL  ihis4ghk 


i* 


THE    AURORA. 


245 


,  .ap  over  the  locker-a  sort  of  mythic  eifey  whirtha 

owner  loAed  upon  pretty^muih  .ssoZ'T^/m 
commodores,. do  tho  }nir«.v,^4.  "^^ 

thin,,  whiei;  ie  s'ls  Zt'r  leX'rlT  """- 
inthe  strong  fajth  of ignor^S  tj^pe:;  o"^^ 3 
TOl,  very  mueh  sueh  a  Saint  Anthony  have  Zd^^'' 
'"  ""'"f'nl'er^  staring  o,  always  in'the  tZe  Z 
a  verm,ho„  daubed  puerility,  with  a  glory  tDuteh 
leaf  stretchiiiff  from  ear  fn  onr.  k  *  ,       i^utch  , 

hearty  representative "f  E^:  i*  H'r  I  I.TT' 
,.»o„th  that  speaks  of  stroufetrgS  aTl^i  I 
J  kmdly  heart  and  au  eye-the  other  one  is  spoLdI  in 
.hlie  hthography-that  looks  st<Srn  will      mZ     * 

.  glorious  old  voyager  by  the  hand      1     «>  ^na"*  the 
V  whilelamwritfnl;  hisfe«  i.  datenedTv-the",  "* 

:«e.oatinr-;;,vt;sTr5tt;--. 

'   attLhed  H,  -''"^'  barometer,  Aneroid, 300^   4; 

,'^®WesemUedanUltii^i«ateaolnn/    m,     "^  - 
^=*^^^;*««^^^feiragainsf  thetieep  blue  night  sky;        "  x 

r  .  ■  .      ■■•■     ,     ,-\     - '. '■■ .  ■  'S^ 


H^ 


,.l' 


%■ 


^ 


%• 


-  Ai) 


.^ 


♦  ■>. 


r> 


'    246 


THE     AURORA. 


otherwise  it  resembled  the  mackerel  fleeces  and  mare's 
tails  of  our  summer  skies  at  home. 

"It  began  toward  the  nprth western  horizon  as  an 
irregqlar  flaring  cloud,  sometimes  sweeping  out  into 
wreaths  of  stratus  ;  sometimes  a  condensed  opaline 
nebulosity,  rising  in  a  zone  of  clearly-defined  white- 
ness, from  3°  to  5°  in  breadth  up  to  the  zenith,  and 
then  arching  to  the  opposite  horizon.     This  zone  re- 
sembled more  a  long  line. of  white  cirro-stratus  than 
the  auroral  light  of  the  systematic  descriptions.    There 
was  no  approach  to  coruscations,  or  even  rectangular 
deviations  from  the  axis  of  the  zone.     Wlien  it  varied 
from  a  right  line,  its  curvatures  were  waving  and  ir- 
regular,  such  as  might  be  produced  by  wind,  but  hav- 
ing  no  relation  to  the  observed  air-currents  at  the 
earth's  surface.     It  passed  from  the  due  northwest,  be- 
tween the  Pleiades  and  fhe  Corona  Borealis ;  the  star 
of  greatest  magnitude  in  the  latter  of  these  constellai 
tions  remaining  in  the  centre',  although  its  waving 
curves  sometimes  reached  the  Pleiades.    At  the  zenith, 
its  mean  distance  from  the  Polar  Star  was  7°  south, 
and  it  passed  doAvn,  increasing  in  intensity,  near  Vega, 
in  Lyra,  to  the  southeast. ' 

"  There  was  throughout  the  arc  no  marked  seat  of 
greatest  intensity.  Around  the  Corona  of  the  north, 
its  light  was  more  diff'used.  The  zone  appeared  nar- 
rowed at  the  zenith,  and  bright  and  clear,  without 
marked  intermission,  to  the  southeast.  The  frost- 
smoke  was  in  smoky  banks  to  the  northwest;  but  the 
aurora  did  not  seem  to  be  affected  by  it,  and  the  com- 
pass remained  cojistant.  i 
*  ''December  2.  Drifting 'down  the  sound.  Every 
thing  getting;  ready  for  the  chance  of  a  hurried  good- 
by  to  our  vessels.     Pofkr,  twd-trng^iS^Hl  4>r«a4  p>j 


^4 


I- 


A    BRK\K    UP. 


247 


m  small  hags  to  fling  on  the  ice.  ".Every  man  hb 
?'knapsaok  and  change  of  clothing.     Arm.,  blr  knive       ■ 
«nm«mt,on  out  o„  .l„ck,  and  .ledges    oald      Yet 
«n.the™.^m^ete,at-30o,tc,U„.tf.ticktotheI> 

,:"a^Si7drLr:n:ri"i;\r-''- 

dered  that  seamen  in  pushing  o^fromTCekler: 

w.th  the  rest  or  a^::L!;rcUe':7n  r.nX^' 

"4  P.M.  Brooks  comes  down  while  wo  «ro  a-   ■ 

wa.  cnt  down  to  a  .llameter  o7 three  hundrer"^ 
we  had  little  to  spare  of*     R  *  !f  """''""'  y^ds:. 

there  already  fifteerLf^aej:rat:T.ett7;::      ' 
paces  from  our  bows,  stretching  acros.  at  rirhT       . 
With  the  old  cleft  of  October  the  2d  ^        "^''' 


60>"«<  tilBfr 


ofedu 


'      f 


^go  tt«  parallel  to  and  «ongsideof  the  Rea 


P 


■m 


•'  ■  i,  / 


r 


.  ,i» ' 


■■■*  ' ...  1-  ■   1,  ■     .  y  ■      '■'.'•  -« 


248    ' 


LANCASTER    SOUND. 


,,♦?. 


%■ 


cue,  has  not  opened.  Her  officers  have  brought  their 
private  papers  on  board  the  Advance;  and  such  indis- 
pensable arficles  as  may  be  needed  in  case  of  her  de- 
struction. 

"Our  ship's  head  is  toward  a  point  of  land  to  the 
northeastward,  but  her  position  changes  so  constantly, 
that  there  is  little  use  of  recording  it.     Caught  a  Ibx, 
this  morning  ;  have  now  two  on  board. 
-  .  "Our  beariiags,  taken  by  azimuth  compass  this  morn- 

ing  at  eleven,  gav6  Cape  Hurd,  S.  by  W.  i  W. ;  West- 
ern  Bluff,  of  Rigsby'a  Inlet,  S.E.  i  i^;  Table-hill  of 

,,  Parry,  S.E.  by  S.  *  S.;  Cape  Ricketts,  E.  by  N. 

1,1  /  •    "Wind  changed  at  9  P.M.  to  N.N.W. ;  thermom- 

eter,  minimum,  -26Q;  maximum, -22°;  mean,  23° 

^^  December  4,  Wednesday.  This  morning  showeS  us 
an  interval  of  over  two  hundred  yards  already  covered 
with  stiff  ice  :  so  much'  for  our.,^hasm  of  laSt  night! 
All  around  us  is  a  moving  wreck  of  ice-fields. 
•  **Our  drift  seems  to  have  been  to  the  westward.   We 

have  certainly  left  the  coast,  which  yesterday  seemed 
almpst  over  us,  though  it  is  still  too  near  for  good  fel- 
...      ij^tirship;  '  . 

;  '    yThis  is  the  first 'clear  day — truly  clear,  that  ]ire 
!^have  had  since  my  record  of  the  chaiiiging  dayligiit. 
*-•  Compared  with  the  gloomy  haziness  of  its  predeces- 
sors, it  was  cheering.     The  southern  horizon  was  a 
zone  otred  light ;  and  althoiigh  the  clear  blue  soon 
absorbed  it,  we  could  read  small  print  with  a  little  ef- 
fort at  noonday  by  turning  the  book  to  the  south.    The 
stars  were  visible  all  the  time|  except  where  the  hori- 
zon was  lighted  up." 
.  The  next  four  days  wer6  full  of  excitement  and 

^^^  anxiety.    One  orack  ufttT  ainother  pa.sBftd  across  qul. 


#      ■' 


CRISIS. 


249 


hour  afterward,  the  0^1,  f"  ?"  •'™"  '""''•    ^n 
a  «.u„d  like  e,;aprg  ,~°  it''-°l'"°""''  "^  ^'^ 
.   under  «>n.e„sLL"^Zj!Z  tZ  7""  T'' 
two  to  four  inches  thick  wo  Jdco^r  ,h  '"."  '^""" 

mthout  an  apparent  change  „f  ell,  T '  '»''  *''""' 
s.des  would  come  together  with  7     '  '^«  ^«Pawted 
mortar,  craunching^he  newiv 7       1  «?'»«'»"  'ikea 
it  headlong  in  fta5me„t"Xr  fift  •'rl/'i'''  ""<'  '''™"g 
it  pUed  agfinst  ouf  bultl^.  "^  "P?"  "■"  '''-till 
a  crisis.    Sledffes  boat,  „!,'    ^'%*''ing  betokened 
P<«ed  in  ordef'cSrc  ^^'''°'^""^'^'-«"(li^- 
1-ached  by  ne^  d"leX ^0^ dX  """  "  *''^^  ""• 
at  work. officer  and  sefma^hke    ^  ^''^r"  ""' 
it  spares  no  one,  is  essentis  Iv  H      '        "^''^^Wty.  when 

l«ard.    The  ne^:"^fZ7:^"'' ''™"  °"  ^'•'''• 
us  to  the  further  sid.  nf  .    i,         T™  "''"y  &<»" 

•ker  company  coriaW  wthTurro^^'^'K"'' 
SToaned  ami  quivered  under  the  Z  "^  """^^ 

»■<;-    I  g.ve  my  diary  trjltiZTr"  ^'""'  "^^     ■ 

■  «i„„  ibr  el^t;  ^*  ■"  f «  "--tie  of  prep. 

«m  ray  journal     Now  Z  Htt^ '  V'"'"''  ?  "■'""^"' 
up  again,  and  the  ilanL  .!»  J      rP"^"*  '^  "^^  . 
little  home  Bible  a   h^d  Lu "''  ''™PP«''-    The  ' " 
fof  a  jump  ''•  ""''  "">  ioe.ch.thei  ready 


^ 
# 


#' 


* 


250 


CRISIS. 


.'^ 


1 


Ucc.C. 


Doc  ' 


"The  above  is  a  rough  idea  of  pur  last  three  days' 
positions  and  changes.        ^,  -  • 

"  From  this  it  is  evidenfrlhat  a  gradual  process  of 
breaking  up  has  taken  place.    We  are  afloat 

"  The  ice;  as  I  l^ve  sketched  it,  December  7  began 
to  close  at  11  A.M.,  and,  at  the  same  time  tlie  bng 
^vas  driven  toward  the  open  crack  of  December  4  (r). 
\t  1  P  M  this  closed  on  us  with  fearful  nipping. 

"  1  P  M  Han  on  deck.  The  ice  was  comparafively 
quiescent  when  I  attempted  to  write;  but  it  reco.n- 
mcnced  with  a  steady  pressure,  which  mu^st  soon  prove 
irresistible.  It  catches  against  a  protruding  tongue 
lorwaf ,  and  is  again  temporarily  Jirrested 

"4  Im    Up  from  dinner-' all  hands!     The  m 

came  il  with  the  momentum  before  mentioned  as  'ir- 

resistiblV,'  progressive  and  grand.     All  expected  to  be- 

take  ourLlves  sledgeless  to  the  ice  for  the  open  space 

nround  tie  vessel  barely  admits  of  a  foot-board.    Tk 

timbers,  3nd  even  crdss-beams  protected  biTshores,  vi- 

br^ted  sols  to  cotounicate  to  you  the  PefiUa^tre'nor 

of  a  cottolfactory.     Presently  the  steriJof  the  bng, 

by  a  succeLion  of  jerking  leaps,  began  f  rise,  whi  e 

her  bows  Ipped  toward  the  last  night's  ice  ahead. 

Every  body\ooked  to  see  her  fall  upon  her  beam-ends, 

and  rushed  lut  upon  the  ice.     After  a  few  an^aous 

breath-complssed  moments,'  our  n<Jly-«f  "^J^J.^ 

liUlu  tiuft  ro|c  up  upon  the  encroaching  floes  bod.l). 


ANECDOTE. 


251 


Her  ddphm.str,ker  struck  the  ice  ahead  ;  her  bows  be 

'  Th^  u     '^"Pl^"""-'  »<!  thus  lifted  up  uporthe 
.«.hd  tables,  we  have  a  temporary  respite  4ain 

-i^    cZ'^r'^Tlr  «>--.4wo  await 
lime,     ^ape  I*  ellloot,  S.  bv  W  i  Vir      v>         i    i. 

•  Fr^ndicuiar  blufl;,  S.S.E.    ^e  h1.  E  nT^E 

by  compass ;  Cape  Hurd,  N.W.  by  W.  ^  W  rtrttelT  " 

.  ';We  are  at  least  fifty  mUes  fromBeechy  Is  ardtn\l 

Umon  Bay-about  ibrty.fii^Ues  from  Leopold  sTr 

>r  stores     Leopold  Harbor,  or  our  more  distant  E„ 

li^hfnends,  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  mHes^ff 

«e  our  only  places  of  refuge.     We  are  daL  hourlf' 

dnftmg- further  from  both.     It  is  this  nake'dhess  oV 

^resources,  even  more  than  perpe(,ual  darkness  and 

««e„durable  cold,  that  makes  ou\p„sition  ol  j 

teterne..     Dr.ft  a  little   westward;   ther^mlr 

My  journal  ^s  not  t«Il  the  story ;  but  it  is  worth 
notmg,as  it  illLrates  the  sedative  effect  of  a  Itact 
f,  •"•^^"'»  »f  hazards.     Out  brig  had  just  2^ 
the  floe,  and  as  we  st»od  on  the  ile  watching  her  vt 
ta„„,jt  seemed  so  certain  that  she  must  come"™ 
on  her  beam-ends,  that  our  old  boatswain,  Brools 
called  out  to  "stand  from  under  "     It  *i,-     "™"''*' 
it  occurred  to  one  of  the  ^0:,!   hat  fhe  filhaZo 
b»en  pat  out,  and  that  the  stores  remati'g    n  boa"d 
would  be  burned  by  the  falUng  of  the  stoves    '  Swi'g 
ng  himselt  back  to  the  deck,  and  rushing  below  he 
found  two  persons  in  the  cabin;  the  officfr  who  had 
be  n  reheved  from  watch^uty  a  few  minu  Jb^fte 
,u.e  y  seated  at  the  mess-table,  and  the  steward  i 

me  »t  r]*"!  ™  ■;/.":• .  "  Y™  -«  ->  »-'  "head  o" 
me,  he  said ;  you  didn't  think  I  was  going  out  unon 
the  ICO  without  my  dinner."  ^         ^^ 


*      , 


1252 


LANCASTER    SOUND. 


"  Decembers,  Sunday',  8  P.M.  This  has  thus  far  been 
a  day  of  rest.  Our  vessfel,  lifted  up  upon  the  h(^vy 
ice.  has  borne  without  injury  a  few  fresh  pressures. 
The  wind  has  been  still  from  the  eivstward,  and  m' 
have  drifted  about  six  miles  ^  the  westward  again. 
This  wind  was  almost  a  gale ;  yet  its  influence  upon 
the  eastern  drift  is  barely  able  to  produce  this  limited 
westing.  I  now  regard  it  as  past  a  doubt,  that  should 
we  survive  the  collisions  of  the  journey,  we  must  float 
into  Baffin's  Bay. 

"A  small  auroral  light  was  seen  to  the  northwest 
at  9  aA,  the  second  within  two  days.  Its  axis  was 
16°  W.  of  the  magnetic  meridian.  The  mean  tem- 
perature of  the  day  has  been  - 12°^  70'.  Wind  more 
gentle  from  the  eastward. 

"Mr.  Griffin,  who  is  now  the  executive  officer  of  our 
consQlidated  sqiladfon,  has  undertaken  a  systematic 
drill  of  the  crew,  lie  has  mustered  them  for  an  ice- 
march,  with  knapsacks  fitted  to  their  bWks.and  sledge 
equipments,  just  suqh  as  will  be  required  whetl  the 
worst  com^.  Every  thing  is  rigorously  inspected; 
the  lirovisiois  and  stores  of  all  sorts  are  packed  snug, 
and  have  their  places  marked;  an;!  t\ie  men  are  in- 
structed as  to  their  cours^e  in  the  mom^it  of  emerg- 
ency. .      "  ^ 


c— ^^^i-*  iv.*TgyijMi*-'P- 


"  Here  is  a  sketeh  of  the  present  position  of  our  ves- 
l^eTT^H  looks  extmTapmt,  but1 


.?> 


LANCASTER    SOUND. 


253 


"December  9,  Monday.  Like  it«  .^ 
clear;  that  is  to  say  for  fh'  ""■"*  Predecessors, 

twilight,  you  .ee  the  skekl   ™."'\'l'''''-^  °''^<'»«'y 

^'i^ht  stars,  a, itt,ep:,2^trbrtfl:^- ■''■'''''' 
second-qnarter  crescent  wa^  fJl    C,    ""  ""»"'  » 

era  and  western  horiEoiTst^LV"!"  °"  ""e  north- 

crimson  lamp.  '  ^'"*""'  ""<!  laming  like  a 

"  Last  night,  mounted  as  we  arp  »!.      •     • 
our  timbers  to  complain  sadiv      w    ."'''P'"^  """'"'i 
parties  to  crow-bar  away  ^i\  T"  '"^  *»  ^«»''  <™t 
The  bob-stays  were  CJd t  l^d  hi""  """^P"'' 
movement  continued  to  tb.    '"'°^'»»''en.    Our  floe 

heavy  ice  in  upon  the  E^t  X  "''  '"''"^  "■« 
Fessure;  and  Is  now  surrnnL.j  vT  "P  """"^  ">e 

lite  ourselves.     sJislt  ,^       ^  '"'""»'""'  ■''■Ws 
tat  from  us,  asternV  "'  ""*"  «%  X^^ds  dis. 

Fromthis  time  to  the  21st  mL,A-c, 
lermission.     As  one  headl«nJ«^  '     "''^  without  in. 
»lf  "gainst  the  horieoni  w    •  "^  """*''"  ''««"«d  i*"  ^ 
Airtinj  the  northern  coalt  T ."PP"?™'  that  we  we,^ 

S^™  ut  some  anxiety^Ln  o^rT"'-    ^'«"'  ""^  - 
«8«.nst  the  shore-ice  ;;  we  doll  "^  ^"^''"^  '"'"' 
P»">t,  threafenJd  to  wreck  j!"*^ '""?  P^J"''*"? 
But  as  we  drew  nearer  ^  the"  h'?°"^  "^  <™g™ent, 

P"<*  the  new  ha^aMrofttX'fil,''""''^ '»'''■ 
vn circumstance  became  for^i*®''^  B*y-  '«.     . 
of  hope,     Thebry,  as  well  as  ,S^f '»P°'^»t  gi-onnd 

-.made  the  -..therterrca^rr''"?'"'"'^''     ' 

te  »eat^f intense  hu»mo!kS°Th'®™«'' 
Ji'tancefton.  that  point  theh^!?      ^T'■«  8T«ater  thft 

«"«  of  the  meeting  c^lt.''  ""f  f J  "If ' '"'  «>«  curv- 


-"i^^^^rrsrs^ 


V 


rotation.    Ther* 


e  was. 


.(f " 


\ 


<1 


'WP'^ 


.254 


LANCASTER    SOUND. 


V 


of  course,  no  escape  for  us  from  this  encounter  r^  and 
the  only  question  was  of  tlie  degrees  of  hazard  itWust 
involve. 

On  the  19th,  the  tall,  mural  precipices  to  the^rth- 
ward,  and  the  cape  in  which  they  terminatecr  toward 
the  east,  convinced  us  that  we  had  almost  reajched  the 
western  headland  of  Croker's  Bay.  ,We  had  di|fted  one 
hundred  and  eleven  miles  since  the  beginning  of  the 
month.  Our  course  had  been  without  any  cheering 
incident.  There  was  the  same  wretched  succession 
of  openings  and  closings  about  our  floe,  somewhat  dan- 
gerous, but  too  uniform  to  be  exciting ;  and  we  had 
drilled  with  knapsack  and  sledge,  till  we  were  almost 
martinets  in  our  evolutions  on  the  ice.  I  group  the 
few  entries  qi  my  journal  that  have  any  interest. 

''December  11.  Wind  last  night  fierce  from  the  north; 
to-day  as  fierce  from  the  west.  It  has  carried  us  clear 
of  the  great  cape  that  stretches  out  east  of  Maxwell's 
Bay,  and  that  threatened  us  with  the  variety  of  a  lee 
shore.  The  Rescue  has  had  another  trial :  her  stern- 
post  is  carried  away,  her  pintle  and  gudgeon  wrenched 
.  oS.  A  party  of  officers  and  men  are  out,  trying  the  ex- 
periment of  a  night  upoh  the  ice,  tented  and  bag-bed- 
ded. I  wish  them  luck ;  but  the  thermometer  fi%- 
s'even  degrees  below  freezing  is  unfavorable  to  a  fete 
champetre. 

'*  December  12.  Every  thing  solid,  and  looking  as  if 
it  ha4  always  been  so ;  yet,  a  few  days  ago,  I  had  this 
jour^l  of  mine  stitched  up  in  its  tarred  canvas-bag, 
and-  ready  fpr  a  fling  upon  the  ice  four  times  in  the 
twenty-four  hours.  The  floes  hare  stopped  abrading 
each  other,  and  are  driving  ahead  right  peaceably,  with 
our  brig  mounted  on  tqp :  how  far  we  are  from  the 
edges,  it  is  tooiiark  to  see. — '—- -^^^^^-^^^ 


^ 


'■•9^'r 


succession 


I 


LANCASTER    SOUND. 


25*5 

^t^-.^:^^::z:^y<>-f^.  but 

"All  our  mess  took  our  toafc^f t.ra„f      x    i 

all  the  tune.  It  looks  strangely  this  undying  fo,Zh! 
moon.  The  frost-s^oke  is  wreathing  the  red "0^0. 
our  sonthem  horizon.  It  would  be  a  good  nigh  IT'  ! 
for  a  painter.  .  °    4  "ig"c-scene 

AH^llrf '-f '  therniometer  rose  from  -3°  to  -lo 
At  100  clock  It  was -40.    Its  maximum  was +  100  a 
temperature  mild  and  comfortable.    The  wind  ctan.;d     '^ 
from  west  by  south  to  west  bv  north  and  ih.  1 

the  drift  are  a^  yesterday.       ^  '         *^'  ''"  ^"^ 

foiinl  Ts  ^'"^^'•^^'?*  ^^«*  ^ight  by  Mr.  Carter,  wa. 
found  this  mormng.  about  three  hundred  yards  from 

«  ice  f;d"'.-  ""'  "^\-«^^«^  between'two  IZ 

ir^t    tketo?         '^'"^^^  ^"^^^^  ^^'«  "^"--^e  deep 
into  the  frozen  snow.     Twice  he  had  stopped  to  lie 

down  during  his  death-walk,  marking  eachTace  with  ' 

a  large  puddle  of  blood,  which  brancLd  ouVover  the 

'ZZ''ZrT''''y '''''''''    H--asureigh 
leet  lour  inches  from  tip  to  tip.     I  killed  a  fox  •  but 

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256 


LANCASTER    SOUND. 


of  the  ball  was  +92°.  The  crew  were  at  work  till 
eleven,  leveling  our  rugged  floe,  and  heaping  up  snow 
against  the  sides  of  the  brig.  The  position  of  our  ves- 
sel, high  perched  in  air,  and  dipping  head  foremost  in 
a  way  most  Arctic  and  uncomfortable,  makes  the  pro- 
tection of  siiow  very  desirable.  We  feel  the  cold  against 
her  walls.  The  crew  had  an  hour  of  sledging,  as  well 
by  way  of  exercis6  as  of  preparation  for  their  expected 
trials. 

"A  point  supposed  to  he  Cape  Crawfurd  bore,  by 
compass,  west.  Our  distance  from  the  north  shore  is 
about  five  miles." 


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./^ 


ABCTIC  HOOD. 


CHAPTER  XXX.  \ 

I  EMPLOYED  the  dreary  intervals  of  leisure  that  her- 
-aided  our  Christmas  in  tracing  some  Flemish  portrait, 
ures  of  things  about  me.  The  scenes  themselves  had 
interest  at  the  time  for  the  parties  who  figured  in  them ; 
and  I  believe  that  is  reason  enough,  according  to  the 
practice  of  modern  academics,  for  submitting  them  to 
the  public  eye.  I  copy  them  from  my  scrap-book,  ex- 
purgating  only  a  little.  .. ,;;.  ^ 

"We  have  almost  reached  the  solstice ;  'and  things 
are  so  quiet  that  I  may  as  well,  before  I  foi^et  it,  tell 
you  something  about  the  cold  in  its  sensible  effects 
and  the  way  in  which  as  sensible  peoi)le  we  met  it. 

J^ou  will  see,  by  turning  to  the  eaily  part  of  my 
journal^  that  the  season  we  now  look  back  upon  as 
the  perfection  of  summer  contrast  to  this  outrageous 
winter  wa«  in  fa^t  no  summer  at  aJl.  We  haS  the 
young  ice  forming  round  us  in  Baffin's  Bay,  and  were 
measuring  snow-falls,  while  you  were  sweating  under 
yourgrass-cloth.    Yet  I  remember  it  as  a  time  of  sun- 


jivTA.u.^^i:^    "V__"  "  4"i"^i''"''LL^  as  a  rime  ol  sun- 
-^Ti^eoreation,  wten  we  s^t  bears  upon  the  floes,  and 


-A^ 


258 


THE    COLD. 


were  scrambling  irieriily  over  glaciers  and  murdering 
rotges  in  the  bright  glare  of  our  day-midnight.  Like 
a  complaining  brute,  I  thought  it  cold  then — I,  who 
am  blistered  if  I  itouch  a  brass  button  or  a  ramrod 
without  a  woolen  mit. 

"  The  cold  cam0  upon  us  gradually.  The  first  thing 
that  really  strucki  me  was  the  freezing  up  of  our  wa- 
ter-casks, the  drip^andle  appearance  of  the  bung-holes, 
and  our  inability  to  lay  the  tin  cup  down  for  a  five- 
minutes'  pause  without  having  its  contents  made  solid. 
Next  came  the  complete  inability  to  obtain  drink  with- 
out manufacturing  it.  For  a  long  time  we  had  col- 
lected  our  wateij  frona  the  beautiful  fresh  pools  of  the 
icebergs  and  fld^s ;  now  we  had  to  quarry,  out  the 
blocks  in  flinty]  glassy  lumps,  and  then  melt  it  in  tins 
for  our  daily  dripk.     This  was  in  Wellington  Channel. 

"By-and-by  ihe  sludge  which  we  passed  through  as 
we  traveled  belcame  pancakes  and,  snow-balls.  We 
were  glued  up.j  Yet,  evej^^late,as  the  11th  of  Sep- 
tember, I  coUdcted  a  ^f^Kt^S  Potentilla  from  Ba?- 
low's  vlnlet.  But  now  an^hing  moist  or  wet  bega|i 
to  strike  me  a^  something  to  be  looked  at — a  curiou^, 
out-of-the-wayl  production,  like'  the  bits  of  broken  i<^e 
round  a  can  »dif  mirit-julep.  Our  decks  became  drjy^, 
and  studded  with  botryoidal  lumps  of  dirty  foot-trod- 
den ice.  The  rigging  had  nightly  accumulations  of 
rime,  and  we  learned  to  be  careful  about  coiled  ro|^es 
and  iron  work[  On  the  4th  of  October  we  bad  a  mejau 
temperature  below  zero.  , 

"  By^this  time  our  little  entering  hatchway  had  |be- 
come  so  complete  a  mass  of  icicles,  that  we  had  to  gjive 
it  up,  and  reabrt  to  our  winter  door- way.  The  opening 
of  a  door  wa^  now  the  signal  for  a  gush  of  smoke-Uke 
▼apor :  ever  j[  stove-pipe  sent  out  clouds  of  purple  steam ; 


FilOZEN    STORES. 


259 


of  their  cha„,?d  Td  t  1^  ThT  driL-^rt' 
cameM  solid  brecoial  mass  of  Imltd  a„!?f  ^,.'»- 
a  eon^merate  of  sJieed  ^halJonT  Dried  tf^ 
the  same.    To  ffet  thesfi  nn+  «p^u    /  ^  peaches 

out  of  the™,  wfa  X  Ip's'lrt"?''  ST' 

lard,  less  chanaed  rea.,«o  o  ,     "  ^'"*-     -"utter  and 
mallet.     ThehfluT  u'*"^  '°^^  ^^^^^^^  ^nd 

(iron-ore  pfiXrC^^^^^^  ^^-^^t- 

cha„,e/a„d  ilaL7lrn\t  ^So  be  hT"  "*"^ 
talfcutbyastiffiron  Jle  ^«  ^^^  scooped, 

can  hardiv  chin  it      a  \.     *\   "  •  ^7  ^^     30°  the  aM 
J^-^tor,  a.  flint  .U^uZt^;^^— 


iit. 


.;t  ■■-' 


260 


ICES. 


4  similar  bulk  of  lamp  oil,  denuded  of  the  staves,  stood 
like  a  yellow  sandstone  roller  for  a  gravel  walk. 

"  Ices  for  the  dessert  com"e  of  course  unbidden,  in 
all  imaginatble  and  unimaginable  variety.  I  have  tried 
my  inventive  powers  on  some  of  tliem.  A  Roman 
punch,  a  good  deal  stronger  than  the  noblest  Roman 
ever  tasted,  forins  readily  at  -20°.  Some  sugared 
cranberries,  with  a  little  blotter  and  scalding  water, 
ahd  you  have  an  impromptu'strawberry  ice.  Many  a 
time  at  those  funny  littliB  jams,  that  we  call  in  Phila- 
delphia •  parties,'  where  the  lady-ho§tess  glides  with 
such  nicely-regulated  indifferemce  through  the  complei 
machinery  she  has  brought  together,  I  have  thought 
I  noticed  her  stolen  glance  of  anxie1?y  at  the  cooing 
doves,  whose  icy  bosoms  were  melting  into  one  upon 
the  supper-table  before  their  time.  We  order  these 
things  better  in  the  Arctic.  Such  is  the  '  composition 
and  fierce  quality'  of  our  ices,  that  they  are  brought 
in  served  on  the  shaft  of  a  hickory  broom ;  a  transfix- 
ing rod,  which  we  usg  as  a  stirrer  first  and  a  fork  aft- 
^^  erward.  So  hard  is  this  terminating  cylinder  of  ice, 
that  it  might  serve  as  a  truncheon  to  knock  down  an 
ox.  The  only  difliculty  is  in  the  processes  that  fol- 
low. It  is  the  work  of  time  and  energy  to  impress  it 
with  the  carving-knife,  and  you  must  handle  your 
spoon  deftly,  or  it  fastens  to  your  tongue.  One  of  our 
mess  was  tempted  the  other  day  by  the  crystal  trans- 
parency df  an  icicle  to  break  it  in  his  mouth;  one 
piece  froze  to  his  tongue,  and  two  others  to  his  lips, 
and  each  carried  oflf  the  skin :  the  thermometer  was 

.    at  -28°.  ' 

"Thus  much  for  our  Arctic  grab.    I  need  not  say 
that  our  preserved  meats  would  make  very  fair  can- 

iion-balls,^  canister- shot  jj 


A    WALK. 


261 


-9*50  „^+  1  ^'"siume.     ihe  thermometer  is,  sav 

venerable  hoar-frost.     The  inurfa^he  Ld  Ze,  li 
form  pendulous  beads  of  danghng  ice.    Put  out  'i? 
tongue,  and  it  instantly  freezes  l  this  icy  crustks 
and  a,  rapid  effort  and  some  hand  aid  will  be  required 
«  hberate  rt.     The  Jess  you  talk,  the  better.'^ 

Mn.  vT  'T^'^'r''''S  «»  your  uppe^jaw  by  Z 
lutmg  aid  of  your  beard;  even  my  eyes  have  often 
been  so  glued,as  te  show  that  even  I  wLk  ma^be  u„" 
afe.  As  you  walk  on,  you  find  that  the  iron-worl 
of  your  gun  begins  to  penetrate  through  two  coats  of 
woolen  mittens,  with  a  sensation  like  hot  walS  . 

wind      Z%  ^"  »«PPosing  your  back  to  the 

wind  and  if  you  are  a  good  Arcticized  subject,  a  warm 
^ow  has  already-been  followed  by  a  profus;  sJZ. 
Aow  tnrn  about  and  face  the  wind ;  what  a  devil  of 
a  change  !  how  the  atmospheres  are  wafted  off!  how 
penetratingly  the  cold  trickles  down  your  neck- and 

leCiZ^'r-     ^"-'"J-k-knVherfteCt 
hke  Bpb  Sawyer's  apple,  'unpleasantly  warm'  in  the 

ce  andiot^  fiw:  make  your  way  back  to  the  ship" 

iZTTf^T'^^*  *'•"'"  ""'«=  »ff  ^i*  »  freshening 
wind  and  at  one  time  feared  that  I  would  hardly  sef  ' 

the  brig  again.     Mrtrtnn  a.K.w  „„»^    ■^     -  ,        •'  *_ 

"■■K.nKttiu.    iuorton,  Who  accompanied  me,  had 


■:u«.. , 


.>^:,i.,..,j'j-  •;. 


.  •       ',h 


.  ,* 


262 


FRECZINO    TO    DEATH. 


l^is- cheeks  frozen,  and  I  felt  that  lethargic  numbness 
mentioned  in  the  story  books. 

''I  will  tell  you  what  this  feels  like,  for  I  have  been 
twice  'caught  out.'  Sleepiness  is  not  the  sensation. 
Have  you  ever  received  the  shocks  of  a  magneto-elec- 
tric machine,  and  had  the  peculiar  benumbing  sensa- 
tion  of  *  can't  let  go,'  extending  up  to  your  elbow- 
joints  ?  Deprive  this  of  its  paroxysmal  character ;  sub- 
due"  but  diffuse  it  over  every  part  of  the  system,  and 
you  have  the  so-called  pleasurable  feelings  of  indpient 
freezing.  It  seems  even  to  extend  to  your  brain.  Its 
inertia  is  augmented ;  every  thing  about  you  seems 
of  a  ponderous  sort ;  and  the  whole  amount  of  pleasure 
is  in  gratifying  the  disposition  to  remain  at  rest,,  and 
ipare  yourself  an  encounter  with  these  latent  resist- 
ances.  This  is,  I  suppose,  the  pleasurable  sleepiness 
of  the  Story  books. 

"I  coulifiU  page  after  page  with  the  ludicrous  mis- 
eries of  our  ship-board  life.  We  have  two  climates, 
hygrometrically  as  well  as^thermometrically  at  oppo- 
site ends  of  the  scale.  A  pocket-handkerchief,  pocket- 
ed below  in  the  region  of  stoves,  comes  up  unchanged. 
Go  below  again,  and  it  becomes  moist,  flaccid,  and 
almost  wet.  Go  pn  deck  again,  and  it  resembles  a 
shingle  covered  with  linen.     I  could  pick  my  teeth 

with  it. 

"You  are  anxious  to  know  how  I  manage  to  stand 
this  remorseless  temperature.  It  is  a  short  story,  and 
perhaps  worth  the  telling.  '  The  Doctor'  still  retains 
three  luxuries,  remnants  of  better  times — silk  next 
his  skin;  a  tooth-brush  for  his  teeth,  and  white  Unen 
for  his  nose.  Every  thing  else  is  Arctic  and  hairy- 
fur,  fur,  fur.  The  silk  is  light  and  washable,  needing 
neither  the  clean  dirt  of  starch  nor  the  uncomfortable 


N* 


e^OSTUME. 


263 


"T  fTT/  3k  "^  seal-skm  integuments 

.tcel^ifc  •»  "'o^hin.  and  the 

,     2.  Legs.    A  pair  of  coarse  woolen  HrJ^io  „  ^ 
p.ro..a..H„b.e«Utbe.j;L?^^^ 

at  Disco  «rmy4tur„kir"'"^^^  "^""^  '  ^ 

hooded  shirt  of  i3n  wir?h     "^^.V^ 
«aohingasfarastl^TpTwdr*ftt'h    ■'  '"'"'*    , 


264 


COSTUME. 


skin.  Excellent  is  this  Mormon  fur !  Leaving  the 
entire  poll  bare  to  the  elements,  it  guards  the  ears  and 
forehetul  effectually:  in  any  ordinary  state  of  the  wind 
above  —15°,  I  am  not  troubled  with  the  cold.  Before 
I  resorted  to  this,  my  cap  was  full  of  frozen  water, 
stiff  and  uncomfortable,  all  the  condensation  turning 
to  ice  the  moment  I  uncovered.  When  the  weather 
is  very  cold,  I  up  hood ;  whea  colder,  say  —40°,  with 
a  middling  breeze — quite  cold  enough,"!  assure  you 
— I  wear  an  elastic  silk  night-cap  in  addition,  oner  of 
a  pair  forced  on  me  by  a  certain  brother  of  mine  as 
I  was  leaving  New  York,  drawn  over  my  head  and 
face,  and  lined  with  a  mask  of  wolf-skin.  To  prevent 
excessive  condensation,  I  cut  only  two  eye-holes,  and 
leave  a  large  aperture  below  the  point  of  the  nose  for 
talking  and  breathing.  A  grim-looking  object  is  this 
wolf-skin  mask,  its  openings  lined  with  water-proof 
oiled  silk. 

"The  only,changes  in  the  above  are  a  pair  of  cloth 
pants  for  fur,  when  the  thermometer  strays  above 
—  15°,  and  a  pair  of  heavy  woolen  wad-mail  leggins, 
drawn  over  my  fur  pants,  and  worn,  stocking  fashion, 
within  my  boots,  in  windy  weather,  when  we  get 
down  to  —30°  or  thereabouts.  A  long  waist-scarf, 
worn  like  the  kummerbund  of  the  Hindoos,  is  a  fine 
protection  while  walking,  to  keep  the  cold  from  intru- 
ding at  the  pockets  and  waist :  it  consummates,  as  it 
floats  martially  on  the  breeze,  the  grotesque  harmonies 
of  my  attire."  \ 


ABCTIC  MAHK. 


on  OUKU>.  ■AT,^D■0.  n. 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

the  naked  table-l^nds  of  tin  «„rth  ^^"'"^  *°"» 

o»theother  ride  of  C^ktrt Baf  rr^*- .  '^'"'  '■»"» 
land,  supposed  to  be  cL  W«^1  """  '^»"«»<1- 
From  all  rfwhioh  it ;.    i'^     bartender,  is  i„  ^iew. 

«y  on  wXii^n^X"'  *"  ''"'*'"^  "^■ 
.«rt^«d''7t€"wTb  "^"L'  '"  *«  '^'o  *o 
«b«ut  a  mile  rr  T^i,^  i**^-  ^*  "««  «^Piored  for 
the  mth  if^.  ™' °'"^'*'- "  •'»«*  i-Jf  a  mile  to 

'lul^'weTh.  «d'',^Th'rf'^  ^  P-"^  <■»  "^riy- 
o»'huma„„;Se  ^Ifw '''^'^  iAdiiference  of  saiK 

>»  thus  upon  a  lump"f  dTTJ^,?*''™P*'°''«'^ 
"  »  °  raaewal  of^e  tronbfe.   Tie  ice     ~ 


,.^' 


A, 


l^isisLf. 


266 


CH-ANOES^. 


( 


about  us  is  apparently  aa.strong  and  solid  as  the  slow^ 
growth  of  Wellington  Channel ;  but  we  know  it  ^  ' 
-     be  recent,  and  less  able  to  withstand  pressure.    Ev- 
ery  thing  now  depends  upon  preserving  our  vessel  and 
stores.    A  breaking  ujp  must  take  pla^e,  and  for  us  the 
later  inthe  spring  th^l^etter.    At  the  present  rate  (^ .   , 
progress,  we  shall  be  in  Baffin's  Bay  by  the  latter  end 
%r:.. :.         of  January.    There  the  dayfight  will  be  with  us  again ; 
most  providentially,  for  the  icebergs  are  wretched  en- 
/    emies.in  darkness.     Thirty  more  days,  and  we  may 
take  a  noonday  walk ;  forty-four,  and  the  sun  dbmes 

back.  ,^ 

"  Our  men  are  har3  at  work  preparing  for  the  Christ- 
mas  theatre,  the  arrangements  exclusively  their  own. 
But  to-morrow  is  a  day  more  welcome  than  Christmas 
—the  solstitial  day  of  greatest  darkness,  from  which 
we  may  begin  to  date  our  returning  li^ht.    It  makes 
a  man  feel  Badly  to  see  the  faces  around  him  bleach- 
ing into  waxen  paleness.    Until  to-day,  as  a  looking.- 
glass  does  not  enter  into  an  Arjtic  toilet,  I  thought  I ' 
was  the  exception,  and  out  of  delicacy  said  nothing 
about  it  to  my  comrades.    One  of  Them,  introducing 
the  topic  just  now,  told  m^  with  an  utter  unconscious- 
ness'of  his  own  ghostliness,  that  I- was  the  palest  of 
the  party.     So  it  is,  'AH  men  think  aU  men,'  &c. 
Why,  the  good  fellow  is  as  white  as  a  cut  potato !" 
'    In  truth,  we  were  all  of  us  at  this  time  undergoing 
changes  unconsciously.    The  hazy  obscurity  of  the 
nights  we  hq4  gone  through  made  them  darker  than 
the  corresponding  nights  of  Parry.    The  complexions 
.    '  of  my  comrades,  and  my  own  too,  as  I  found  soon  after. 

'      \«rard,  were  toned  down  to  a  peculiar  waxy  paleness. 
Our  eyes  were  more  recessed,  ^nd  steangely  clear. 

,    -  Complaints  ofshortnessofbreath  became  general.  Our 


\ 


< 


''"E    SOLSTICE. 


ier 


.  -    appetite  was  almost  ludicroiwI„  „i.        :'        \ 

^T'™'""^^-^*  "^  <^"e^taS   Most  l„y 

■  only  one,  ejtcept  Cantain  n.  »•    '  ""'««''.  I  was  Vhe 
Fox, on  the  othirtad   "  °   ?''™"'  """  ""'  "^  W 

,  ed  to  have  changed  the'iU^IteT"'-  '  '^'""^  «»*■ ' 
food  was  at  hesLl^^^UgH    '  '""*  ""  '""""""-n^r. 

■  wi^Zlt"  ttCe'ssT^'''*:^""'"''''  ^-Wned 
-Men  became  moStel'lf "  ^  "«■<"" ««■- m*-afe 
■noming,  dreams  „/  he  S  "»'«'»''«ve.,  fo-the- 
-sing  the  term-were  nar^ld/*  ">"'''  ™*  help 
«.W  shores  of  Ca^'  W^^tir  7  ^^  "^^  ""e 
with  water-melons  Othe«S7'  *"<■  ""™««1  Wen 
li"  in  a  beautifu,^riS'''^''".^«''J''''"F™nk. 

-bees.     Even  Brooks^lr  iti'J,'";^  "'''*  """K'- 
boateV^n,  told  me    „„„„ «]"':.  """""W»tive 

Morfn«.g6«rors  out  „  "!,"'"•  "^  *■»""?  he^-i 
"w.saheaUtr„aXh-::^^    He-thought 

kgth  of  our  little  comianv^  ?  ,  '"  "  *'"''''  '^e 
-^ired  strenuous  a^ZZ^^ff™''?'"  "P^"'  " 
■«a  exercise  to  keep  th?"  'uTvv  aT^:  "f  ^  ''"*' 
of  scorbutio  gums  were  ,^^1  ^-  ^'«''*  "ases 
One  severe  p„eui„Xlft'"»^r"I»»  my  Waok-Ust. 

its  result.    Them  wi  h     "' "'."'*''•""''»''"  a*"*" 

«f*e  year !    ft  colli  wUhl'™  '"*'  "^""'f!" 
"» ice,  the  opJn  lead"?yZri  *   T"'  "'°'''*™' » 

"^rcn'^'^^-tn^^'''"*"'^ 


-^-^.4.^^^^|^nJ-S~; 


/-" 


268 


CHRISTMAS. 


dnft.  We  could  not  read  print,  not  even  large  news- 
paper  type,  at  noonday.  We  have  been  wiable  to  leave 
the  ship  unarmed  for  some  time  on'Wccount  of  the 
bears.  We  reinember  the  story  of  poor  Bar^ntz,  one 
of  our  early  predecessors.  One  of  our  crew,  Blinn,  a 
phlegmatic  Dutchman,  walked  but  to-day  toward  the 
*  lead j  a  few  hundred  yards  off,  in  search  of  a  seal-hole. 
Suddenly  a  seal  rose  close  by  him  in  the  sludge-ice: 
he  raised  his  gun  to  fire  ;  and,  at  tjie  same  instant,  a 
large  bear  jumped  over  the  floe,  arid  by  a  dive  followed 
the  seal.  Blinn's  musket  snapped.  He  was  glad  to 
get  on  board  again,  and  will  remember  his  volunteer 
hunt.  Thermometer,  minimum,  -18°;  maximum, 
-6°.     A  beautiful  paraselene  yesterday ! ! 

''December  23,  Monday.  Perfect  darkness!  Drift 
unknown.  Winds  nearly  at  rest,  with  the  exception 
of  a  little  gasp  from  the  westward.  Thermometer 
never  below  - 12°,  nor  above  -7°. 

"December  24,  Tuesday.  *  Through  utter  darkness 

borne !' 

''December  25.  'Y'  Christmas  of  y*  Arctic  cruisers!' 
Our  Christmas  passed  without  a  Itujk  of  the  good  things 
of  tl^is  li^.  '  Goodies'  we  had  galore  ;  but  that  best 
of  earthly  blessings,  the  communion  of  loved  sympa- 
thies, these  Arctic  cruisers  had  not.  It  was  curious  to 
observe  the  depressing  influences  of  each  man's  home 
thoughts,  and  absolutely  saddening  the  effort  of  each 
man  to  impose  upon  his  neighbor  and  l;^e  very  boon  and 
jolly.  We  joked  incessantly,  but  badly,  and  laughed 
incessantly,  but  badly  too ;  ate  of  good  things,  and 
drank  up  a  moiety  of  our  Heidsiek ;  and  then  we  sang 
negro  songs,  wanting  only  tune,  measure,  and  harmony, 
but  abounding  in  noise ;  and  after  a  closing  bumper 
to  Mr.  GrrnneTI,  adjouf  ned  witH  creditable  jollity  from 
table  to  the  theatr& 


ftom  the  caboose  to  the  b^hT  t'*"  ^-''S"'  *«»«'>«1 
Ude  the  stage,  and  t^rn^""";  ^^^  """i^^tood  to 

tees  -prese'::w  thr^,„r'-T°^'-r''  '^^'o- 

gave  us  -6°  at  first-  hnf  fvT  7'     •         thermometer 

changed  this  to  th    more  eotfor^^  ^-" 

-4°.  ^®  comfortable  temperature  of 

"Never  had  I  e^iraA  +».  x  , 
^  half  so  muoh*The  the^Jl7  T''"'^  "^^e 
rae  a  wretohedsimnlation  ZT  v.  ^""'^^  ^'^  *» 
little  sympathy  .^^ttte  „lTto^  ■/"''  ^  «-«  *- 
long.  Not  so  our  Arctic  thea  »^  *  '''°»'"°  *•» " 
folio  from  beginn^  t  'lid  """  ""*  '^'*'"«J 

cooH  not  read  glibly  enough  ti^T^L^'' *''*  1'"™P*«' 
tking,  whether  jocose,  "Shan't  or  "*'*•  ^'^'^ 
or  pathetic,  was  deUvered  in  I^*  i\  "•""""'"Place, 
of  despair;  five  words  if  1,    '"S''-*«««ly  monolpne 

cording  to  the  t^mesorVZ;,!^''  V^"^ 
with  a  pair  of  seal  sti„  k    7   P'""'!'*"'^-      Megrim, 

ft.  gentle  J^X'Z^^^^I ""  «"'"  "Pon 
"oeived  it  With  maZott^^'^ij;:^  «-"'igh, 

-i«m,,i„ricS:^t^a^r*^h''r';:'':^'»»'- 

out  roaring.  Brace  toot  ti.  r'  ?f"- 'father ."with. 
James,  and  the^rtle^t^*  ^'^'"»«'.  Bon-on  was 
Pl™  were  takenCMetrsXr    ??  T'^^'^^  ^e. 

"After  this  followedVbTt    «^  ^^  •^°''"™n- 
••  oon.plioatod  mZIiSso  h^t^Ff  f'T'  *» 
"i  then  a  sailor's  hornpiw  L  th.  ^       T^'  ^*"- 


0 


<h'^- 


Jfc-r1heo;;^^t^»|^^-^^--eiy«ale«ted 

*— otewart,  playmgr  out  the  inter 


270 


THE    DRIFT. 


vals  on  the  Jews-harp  from  the  top  of  a  lard-cask.  Li 
fact,  we  were  very  happy  fellows.  We  had  had  a 
foot-race  in  the  morning  over  the  midnight  ice  for  three 
purses  of  a  flannel  shirt  each,  and  a  splicing  of  the 
main-hrace.  The  day  was  night,  the  stars  shining 
feebly  through  the  mist. 

"  But  even  here  that  kindly  custom  of  Christmas- 
gifting  was  not  forgotten.  I  found  in  my  morning 
stocking  a  jack-knife,  symbolical  of  my  altered  looks, 
a  piece  of  Catile  soap— this  last  article  in  great  re- 
quest— a  Jews-harp,  and  a  string  of  beads!  On  the 
other  hand,  I  prescribed  from  the  medical  stores  two 
bottles  of  Cognac,  to  protect  the  mess  from  indiges- 
tion.*  So  passed  Christmas.  Thermometer,  mini- 
mum,  -16°;  maximum,  -7°.     Wind  west. 

''December  26,  Thursday.  To-day,  looming  up  high 
in  the  air,  we  catch  a  sight  of  new  unknown  land. 
Of  our  drift,  save  by  analogy,  we  know  nothing. 

''December  27,  Friday.  The  shores  of  this  coast  seem 
to  have  changed  their  scale.  At  Cape  Riley,  as  my 
sketches  show,  the  limestone  rises  in  a  mural  face, 
based  by  a  deposit  of  detritus,  which  extends  out  in 
tongues,  indentations,  and  salient  capes ;  and  between 
these,  a  cemented  shingle,  full  of  corallines  and  en- 
crinites,  forms  a  beach  of  varying  extent. 

"  Sometimes  this  beach  is  backed  by  rolling  dune- 
like  hills  of  the  scaly  mountain  limestones;  but  after 
a  mile  or  two  of  intermission,  the  high  cliffs  rise  up 
again  in  abutments,  and  continue  unbroken  until  an- 
other interval  occurs.  As  we  proceeded  east,  these  es- 
carped  masses  became  more  buttress-like  and  monu- 
mental, rising  up  into  plateau-topped  masses,  separated 

! 
•  An  offense  which  I  thus  publicly  acknoWledge  in  adTance  of  the  coort- 
-   manlarrtowliicli  this  iltegd  dispenBation  of  ^iraW«r»tMe»«a3f  «i^e€M»fe^^ 


^Jm^  ^  '    »-        V, 


^  '  .^'f/h.^ 


THE    BBIPT. 


271 


bjr  chasms,  which  seem  mem  ri,„»  •  , 
uous  hiU-Une.  Now.Towe Z?w'  '"  ^^  "''""''• 
clouds  indicative  of  distam  1!^^!,  T  "  '^"  '"  ">« 
ainous,  Tolling,  and  brokef  T,  '  '"^'i"' ""»«  »»"»*■ 

the  ^V^    e7vr^h""r^  ?~»  t""  -est,  and 

rejoice  at  the  coming  sun  E^^  '^  "^  "'"'  ''•'  ^ 
taken  convince  me  that  the  helth  „7  ""*  *°  '^  "'^■ 
resting  upon  a  verv  sound  L  ""  "*''■  "e™' 

»ntinueiTnfl„encr"dti^t^:Sl^^^^^ 

luty  to  urge  1 1™ r'Stwl;™-  '*  T ".  "■'  "^ 
the  dry  heat  of  stoves  and  VhTT  T?''*  "'^'""'P'' 
of  them  uninterSXl^t  Z?  "'^,1'"'  ^"^'"y'  "^' 
feeble.    The  short  mcL  „fr^  T      "  *•""  *«  Sf"* 

all  our  office™  e«ep^^^''"^etr'7  '""'""'  "? 
friend  Well,  our  stronC  man  V^*^  """  *°  ^«  "y 
ertioa    The  svmntZf  f         '  '^*'"^  "'*''  'he  ex- 

-  growingX ttX™  »  pC  rr ;.  """^ 
"SMnding  a  ladder  •  and  »„  •  j  ,         '  "'"'"''  "P"" 

took,  in  spite  of  the  obstrrW  ha"e  IT^?  '"^"^"^ 
outline.    It  is  not  mn«  rt      .  •  i'  '  •''«'"'K»«liable 


f% 


/ 


1. 


272 


THE    DRIFT. 


"  This  cape  is  the  great  entering  landmark  of  the 
northern  shores  of  Lancaster  Sound .  Just  one  hundred 
days  ago  we  passed  it,  urged  by  the  wings  of  the  storm ; 
our  errand  of  mercy  filling  us  with  hope,  and  the  gale 
calling  for  our  best  energies.  We  were  then  but  a  few 
hours  from  Baffin's  Bay,  and  not  over  twenty-four  from 
the  coast  of  Greenl/ind.  How  differently  are  we  jour- 
neying now ! 

"The  Bay  of  Baffin,  with  its  moving  ice  and  oppos- 
ing  icebergs,  bathed  in  foggy  darkness  and  destitutie 
of  human  fellowship  or  habitable  asylum,  is  before 
us;  and  we,  so  utterly  helpless,  hampered,  and  non- 
resistant,  must  await  the  inevitable  action'  of  the 
ice.  This  nearness  to  Cape  Warrender  makes  us  feel 
that  our  silent  marches  have  brought  us  near  to  an- 
other conflict.  ^ 

"December  29,  Sunday.  The  drift  shows  an  indent 
of  the  cape  now  abaft  our  beam.  We  are  slowly  mak- 
ing easting.  The  day  is  one  of  the  same  obscure  and 
dimmed  fog  which  for  the  past  week  has  wrapped  us 
in  darkness.  The  ice  gives  no  change  as  yet:  the 
same  great  field  of  moving  whiteness. 

"December  30,  Monday.  By  a  comparison  of  our  sev- 
eral days'  positions,  I  find  that  from  the  18th  to  the 
28th  we  have  drifted  fifty-two  miles  and  a  half,  some- 
thing over  five  miles  a  day.  The  winds  during  this 
period  have  been  from  the  westward,  constant  though 
gentle ;  and  our  progress  has  been  of  the  same  steady 
but  gentle  sort.  At  this  rate,  we  will  in  a  few  days 
more  be  within  the  Baffin's  Bay  incognita. 

"Looking  round  upon  my  mess-mates  with  that 
sort  of 'scrutiny  that  belongs  to  my  craft  and  my  posi- 
tion, I  am  startled  at  the  traces,  moral  and  physical, 
jof  our  Arctic  winter  life.    Those  .who  eon  jt  over  the- 


\ 


.< 


REXURNING    LIGHT. 


273 


If  I  were  asked  to  „r«  in?  "/  *"  *  ^"''^  "g"- 
ha.  been  mo.t  tSt  worht  "".l!  ^V**-"  *'"''* 
»al  cold,  nor  the  nni™  !j,l  °  "■'""■■  ^^  P'^Pet 
.xclusion  from  thTX^ ^M 707^"^'"'''^'° 
■  but  this  constant  and  opprelw  „,  °  i' ?**'  '"™' 
darkness.  "Ppressuig  gloom,  this  unvaried 

bl^'of  hTt  :lZ  .*"""'  *^-  =""*•  ™  that  the 

iwaikiitarittrza*''"""/'''''- 

to  alevel  meandering la„e^rlwh"'™'i"T 
Cunninghame  MonnWns  of  cT^  C^ll"  w  *■" 
not  make  out  our  change  of  m^iLTS    r',*""*  ""'" 

tne  thermometer  fell  n.t  ai»i.t  ii.- 
-210     n„         .      .  '  ^'ffo*  *I"s  mominff  to 

21  •    By  noonday  it  gave  us  -26°  and  -27o     n 

»now-,a.    The  Wind  is  gentle  a.rld,"ut.no: 

soZtTbfiJf^ltJi.'^*'''  '""'"^  "^y  "^  "^0 ' 

*y  of  deep  ulEire.  b^it^'HSn  """  " 
br^ceo^da^ight     i^,;  ^.J^^^-^^the    emem- 

andpasses^yp^ma^'X''  ™"  '^'"  *'"'  «'»*'' 

-outiineStKr:;^:!^-':-": 

lungs  tingle  plsasantly  as  you  draw  it  il  ^^    ~ 


^,;.     \. 


RETURNING    LIGHT. 

11.  Can  read  ordinary  over-sized  print.  Started 
on  a  walk,  the  first  tiine  for  twenty-odd  days.  Saw 
the  great  lead,  and  traveled  it  for  a  couple  of  miles, 
expanding  into  a  plain  of  recent  ice. 

"  M.  Passed  noon  on  the  ice.  Can  read  diamond 
type.  Stars  of  the  first  magnitude  only  visible.  Sat- 
urn magnificent ! 

"1  P.M.  With  difficulty  read  large  type.  The 
cloids  gathering  in  blacl^  stratus  over  the  red  light 
to  the  South. 

"  2.  The  heavens  studded  with  stars  in  their  group- 
ings. Night  is  again  over  every  thing,  although  the 
minor  stars  are  not  yet  seen. 

"  Since  the  first  of  this  month,  we  have  drifted  in 
solitude  one  hundred  and  seventy  miles,  skirting  the 
fiorthern  shores  of  Lancaster  Sound.  Baffin's  Bay  is 
ahead  of  us,  its  current  setting  strong  toward  the  south 
What  will  be  the  result  when  the  mighty  masses  of 
these  two  Arctic  seas  come  together !" 


< 


(^^ 


■iVrJ 


CHAPTER  XXXII.    » 

'  .M«a.yt£  of  W  irr'  "  "'■'■''.  "'■™'  "• 
merriment :  we  w^reteSlnu  T.  ""  -""y  ™  °" 
watch  for  the  mo™r„g       '^  ""•  '"^''*'  "^  ""^o  *'»' 

in?  day.     ThL   fnr^^  ^  ^'7!"'  '^"™'«'«  of  ajvanc- , 

'=Th£'il  tL   ^     ^  *'*  "B**  in  the  zehitF™ 
"  *°*  **•«  '"°*«''J  horizon,  with  its  evenly-iS: 


J-^ 


is    .'  „, 


276 


EIGHTH    OF    JANUARY. 


tributed  bands  of  primitive  colors,  blending  softly  into 
the  clear  blue  overhead ;  and  then,  by  an  almost  magic 
transition,  night  occupying  the  western  sky.  Stars 
of  the  first  magnitude,  and  a  wandering  planet  here 
and  there,  shone  dimly  near  the  debatable  line  ;  but 
a  little  further  on  were  all  the  stars  in  their  glory. 
The  northern  firmament  had  the  familiar  beauty  of  a 
pure  winter  night  at  home,  ^e  Pleiades  glittered 
"  like  a  swarm  of  fire-flies  tangled  in  a  silver-braid,"  , 
and  the  great  st^  that  hang  ahdat  the  heads  of  Orion , 
and  Taurus  were  as  intensely  bright  as  if  day  was  not 
looking  out  upon  them  from  the  other  quarter  of  the 
sky.  I  had  never  seen  night  and  day  dividing  the 
hemisphere  so  beautifully  between  them. 

On  the  8th  we  had,  of  course,  our  national  festivi- 
ties,  and  remembered  freshly  the  hero  who  consecrated 
the  day  in  our  annals.  The  evening  brought  the  the- 
atricals again,  with  extempore  interludes,  and  a  hearty 
splicing  of  the  main-brace.  It  was  something  new,  ^^ 
and  not  thoroughly  gladsome,  this  commemoration  of 
the  victory  at  New  Orleans  under  a  Polar  sky.  There 
were  men  not  two  hundred  miles  from  us,  now  our 
partners  in  a  nobler  contest,  who  had  bled  in  this  very 
battle.  But  we  made  the  best  of  the  occasion  ;  and 
il*  others  some  degrees  further  to  the  south  celebrated 
it  more  warmly,  we  had  the  thermometer  on  oiir  side, 
with  its  —20°,  a  normal  temperature  for  the  "  lauda- 
tur  et  alget." 

But  the  sun  was  now  gradually  coming  up  toward 
the  horizon  :  every  day  at  meridian,  and  for  an  hour 
before  and  after,  we  were  able  to  trace  our  progress 
eastward  by  some  known  headland.  We  had  passed 
Cape  Castlereagh  and  Cape  "Warrender  in  succession, 
and  were  close  en^he  aflEeridiaarO^ape  Qsbora.    The —^ 


a.* 


OUBJ    FLOE. 


/  277 


after  the  new  moon  we  had  lonV?   Yu         ^^^  ^^^^ 
to  the  closing  VeCnt^i^^^^^^^ 
gone  by  without  any  unusual  mo vLn^    and 'th 
needed  only  an  equally  kind  visitatioTof  tCLt;^ 
moon  to  give  us  our  final  struggle  with  th«  rT7 
Bay  ice  by  daylight.  ^^  ^®  ^*®»  « 

Yet  I  had  remarked  that  the  southern  shnr.  «<•  t 
caster  Sound  extended  much  fSerTuf  .?»,    ^^■ 
ward  than  the  northern  dif  and  I  y,«^  I  T' 

we  might  begin  to  feel  thf  c^^^nt'of^^^^^^^^ 

i^zj^To  :ttat;™  ^*^"  ^^^^^ 

X  a  liue  arawn  irom  one  cape  to  th«  of  h«r 
ne^,^.t.„„  received  its  «.,„«„„  ^  J„,  „*-*- 

n^^Za:;"""""^  ""  I"^"'™  -  *«  -  »n  the 

growth.    The  eye  can  not  embrace  its  extent     F«n 
fom  the  mast-head  you  loolt  over  an  ,?^r      i  7    " 

__nd  west,  there  .s  no  such  interception  to  onr  wintery. 

in^e 


d«r.«oi  --™"o  tw  sne  was  tossed  at  our  c 


278 


COMMOTION    OF    THE    ICE. 


snow,  and  her  stern  perched  high  above  the  rubbish. 
Walking  deck  is  an  up  and  down  hill  work^  She  re- 
tains,  too,  her  list  to  starboard.  Her  bare  sides  have 
been  banked  over  again  with  snow  to  increase  the 
warmth,  and  a  formidable  flight  of  nine  ice-block  steps 
admits  us  to  the  door- way  of  her  winter  cover.  The 
stores,  hastily  thrown  out  from  the  vessel  when  we 
expected  her  to  go  to  pieces,  are  still  upon  thd  little 
remnant  of  old  floe  on  our  port  or  northern  side.  The 
Rescue  is  some  hundred  yards  ofl*to  the  south  of  east." 

The  next  day  things  underwent  a* change.  The 
morning  was  a  misty  one,  giving  us  just  light  enough 
to  make  out  objects  that  were  near  the  ship ;  the  wind 
westerly,  as  it  had  been  for  some  time,  freshening  per- 
haps  to  a  breeze.  The  day  went  on  quietly  till  noon, 
when  a  sudden  shock  brought  us  all  up  to  the  deck. 
Runnings  out  upon  the  ice,  we  found  that  a  crack  l^ad 
opeiled  between  us  and  the  Rescue,  and  was  extending 
in  a  zigzag  course  from  the  northward  and  eastward 
to  the  southward  and  westward.  At  one  o'clock  it  had 
become  a  chasm  eight  feet  in  width ;  and  as  it  contin- 
ued  to  widen,  we  observed  a  distinct  undulation  of  the 
water  about  its  edges.  At  three,  it  had  expanded 
into  a  brdad^sheet  of  water,  filmed  over  by  young  ice, 
thr(!»ugh/  which  the  portions  of  the  floe  that  bore  our 
two  vessels  began  to  move  obliquely  toward  each  other. 
Night  closed  round  us,  with  the  chasm  reduced  to  forty 
yards  and  still  narrowing;  tfift.  Rescue  on  her  port- 
bow,  two  himdred  yards  from  her  late  position ;  the 
wind  increasing,  and  the  thermometer  at  -19°; 

My  journal  for  the  next  day  was  wii|ten  at  broken 
interval^,  but  I  give  it  without  change  of  form: 

"January  13,  4  A.M.  All  hands  have  been  on  deck 
since  one  o'clock,  strapped  and  harnessed  for  a  fare- 


.,-J-i.^v.*.  U.Ktel?fc 


V, 


'ION 


Qa.COMMOIl'oN    OP    THE    ICE.  279 

well  march     The  water-lene  of  yesterday  is  covered 

by  four..*ch  .ce;  the  floe,  at  its  margiTmore  thrfn 

hree  feet  thick.    These  have  been  clSing  for  some 

d  «Ttiv  the  I  7  "°"  ""f  ^O" '=»"'i"g  together  more 
mZ  n^  thei?      "'  '^^f'-'t'ering  between  them,  and 
■      "°"""8  ™"  "f '^  »»«'ne  with  hummock  riLes 
They  have  been  fairly  i„  con|act  for  thf&t  ho."    we 
feel  their  pressiye  extending*to  us  through  the  ls«o 
floe  ,„  which  we  are  cradled.    There  is  a  quivering  ' 
vibratonr  hum  about  the  timber  of  the  brig Td  ev 
e^  now  and  then  a  harsh  rubbing  cre^  along  h«  ^ 
sides,  like  waxed  cork  on  a  mahogany  table     Th! 
hummocks  are  driven  to  within  fouf  feJt  of  our  Jun 
.  te'-ond^tand  there  looming  fourteen  feet  U^Z^Z, 

«7a  ^1     A  T^- 1^™"^'  "^""'^  "»t«.  made  up 

n  ss  aftefft  ttr    ';  """  ""*  '^"'^  *he  deep  still' 
ness  alter  it,  the  mysterious  ice-pulse,  as  if  the  ener 
gies  were  gathering  for  another  strife 

"  6i  AtM  Another  pulse !  "the  vibration  greater  than     ' 
we  have  ever  yet  had  it.    If  „„r  Utile  brig  h  J^n  t 
mated  centre  of  sensation,  and  sotae  rule  force  h^" 
ton,  a  nerve-trank,  she,  could  not  feel  it  mZlTe 

^if  f^t^""-  ^°°''^«  »"'  *»  'he  north  this  c^v 
^r  '°,''««™  up  slowly  against  the  sky  in  b  Jfc 
hJb;  ajjd  ..we  watch  them  rolUng  tow^^d  „,  t; 
Ms  sink  again,  and  a  distorted  plain  of  rubbTshmelto 
Wore  us  Mto  the  night.  Ours  is  the  contZt  oftf 
tet  helplessness  with  ilUmitable  power 


.>^j-^ 


f 


^,J 


;    V 


"'# 


f 


280 


ICE    COMMOTION. 


it- 


disappeared,  and  along  the  line  of  its  recent  course  the  j.  w 
ice  is  heaped  up  in  blocks,  tables,  llimps,  powder^ajofA^^  ^ 
rubbish,  often  fifteen  feet  high.  Snow  coveD*^^^^--' 
decks  of  the  little  vessel, \and  the  disorderaf 
spoke  sadly  of  desertion.  Foot-prints  .of#w 
seen  in  every  ftnaginable  corner;  aim  SH^iiie  litt|e 
hatchway,  where  we  had  often  cffit  inTcomfortalile 
good-fellowship,  the  tracks  of  a  large  bear  |iad  broken 
the  snow  crust  in  his  efforts  to  get  below. 
"^  "  The  Rescue  has  met  the  pressure  upon  her  port- 
bow  and  fore-foot.  Her  bowsprit,  already  maimed  by 
her  adventure  off  Griffith's  Island,  is  now  comj^etely,-- 
forced  tip,  broken  short  off  at  the  gammoning.  The 
ice,  a^r  nipping  her  severely,  has  piled  up  round  hei* 
thr^gfleet  above  the  bulwarks.  We  had  looked  to  her 
as  Our  first  asylum  of  retreat;  but  that  is  out  of4;he  " 
quejstioh  now ;  she  can  not  rise  as  we  have  done,  and 
any  action  that  would  peril  us  again  tS^  bear  her 
dpwn  or  crush  her  laterally. 

"  J*he  jce  immediately  about  the  Advance  is  broken 
into  smaU,  angular  pieces,  a^  if  it  had  been  dashed 
against  a  qra^  of  granite,  piir  camp  out  on  the  floe, 
with  its  reserve  of  provisions  and  a  hundred  things  be- 
sides,^lnemorials  of  sce^iim|^^a»e  gone  throuGrh,  orJiD. 
pliailies  and  means  fo|a^^|B§Hpead  djpVfhas  been 
carried  away  bodily.  ^^^K^rrspecimen  of  the  Arc 
tic  bear  is  floatin'g,  with  an  escort  of  bread  barrels, 
nearly  half  a  mile  off. 

"The  thermometer  records  cmly  -.17° ;  but  it  blows 
at  times  so  very  fiercely  that  I  have  never  felt  it  so 
cold :  five  men  were  frost-bitten  in  the  attempt  to  save 
fiottr  stores.  ,  , 

"  9  P.M.  We  have  had  no  renewal  of  the  pressure 
since  half  past  six  this  morning.    We  are  turning  in; 


ma.*!-. 


'i| '  \  <^f- 


/ 


ICE    COMMOTION. 


281 


f 


--     maeh  feebler  tZ  yrterdav  ■  tV^'P'  "l"*  *-'"'y  *««' 
the  icetroke  up  aU  »„„d  Z;  tT.   ' "  """"*  *"  ''»" 

hummocks  built  ud  lit„  ,JJ»    bo*^  and  stem  from 

^n  «ve  feet  a'd:';i;r:::frvtrE™:"r*' 

'       This,  I  may  say,  was  a  fearful  position  •  h»i  ih 
thermometer,  at  a  mean  of  -230^7" '.^o       ^' 
brought  back  the  solid  character  nf      \    t     '  ^"^ 
In  less  than  two  days  evertlTnf  t'  f'^*"'^  "^•' 
firmly  fixed  a^  ever     R.tff^  ^  f  *^"*  "'  ^«^  «« 

'icew^aschaLnndi^n     ^^"^:*"^"^^P^y«^*k«  ^ 
the,violenceTth?lre,"JT,?^^^^  ^**««*«» 

Nothing  can  be  conn!  tT        ^*^  *^^"  ^^P«««d  to. 

inhospiL^ditrrFrraSS^^^ 

el«d  wearilT  over  «  limJ  i         •    ^'*''**y«*f»if- 

■^■^■w, ;:  ig  p*::;"'  ,^^^«^,  h  dark,  j,^ 


^  Wd  telieved  only  hereand  there  by  S 

111  .         -  ,  "^ 


,  -y^'i'i'***  '- 


tt*  titn^^^l*       ,* 


4iHj      ^  *-f-  i 


■% 


282 


ICE     COMMOTION. 


of  upheaved  rubbish.  Still  further  in  the  distance 
came  an  unvarying  uniformity  of  shade,  cutting  with 
saw-toothed  edge  against  a  desolate  sky. 

Yet  there  needed  no  after-survey  of  the  ice-field  to 
prove  to  us  what  majestic  forces  had  been  at  work 
upon  it.  At  one  time  on  the  13th,  the  hummock- 
ridge  astern  advanced  with  a  stfeady  march  upon  the 
vessel  Twice  it  rested,  and  advanced  again — a  dense 
wall  of  ice,  thirty  feet  broad  at  the  base  and  twelve 
feet  high,  tumbling  huge  fragments  from  its  crest,  yet 
increasing  in  mass  at  each  new  effort.  We  had  ceased 
to  hope ;  when  a  merciful  interposition  arrested  it,  so 
close  against  our  counter  that  there  was  scarcely  room 
Ibr  a  man  to  pasa between.  Half  a  minute  of  progress 
more,  and  it  would  have  buried  us  all.  As  we  drifted 
along  five  months  afterward,  this  stupendous  memento 
of  controlling  power  was  still  hanging  over  our  stern. 
The  sketch  at  the  head  of  the  next  chapter  represents 
its  appearance  at  the  close  of  the  month. 


■BODBD  ICI-FLOB. 


*;*«; 


tas  ADVjlHCK,  FEDBUABY,  1601. 


CHAPTER  XXXm. 

We  had  lost  all  indications  of  a  shore,  and  had  ob- 
viously  passed  within  the  influences  of  Baffin's  Bay 
We  were  on  the  meridian  of  75°;  yet,  though  the  re^ 
cent  commotions  could  be  referred  to  nothing  else  but 
the  conflict  of  the  two  currents,  we  had  made  very 
httle  southing,  if  any,  and  had  seen  no  bergs.     But  on 
the  14th  the  wind  edged  round  a  little  more  to  the 
northward,  and  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the 
15th  we  could  hear  a  squeezing  noise  among  the  ice- 
holds  m  that  direction.     By  this  time  we  had  become 
learned  mterpreters  of  the  ice- voices.    Of  course,  we 
renewed  our  preparations  for  whatever  might  be  com- 
ing.    Every  man  arranged  his  knapsack  and  blanket- 
bag  over  again  with  the  practiced  discretion  of  an  ex- 
pert.    Our  extra  clothing  sledge,  carefully  repacked, 
was  ma4e  free  on  deck.     The  India-rubber  boat,  only 

JlSftfHlinthiagolidw^stefercrossingoccasionatchWm^ 
was  launched  out  upon  the  ice  for  the  third  time.    Our 


..  %i 


•     I 


284 


APPROACHING    BAFFIN   S    BAY. 


%  former  depots  on  the  floe  had  fared  so  hadly  that  we 
were  reluctant  to  risk  another;  but  our  stores  were 
ready  to  be  got  out  at  the  moment.* 

Now  began,  with  every  one  after  his  own  fashion, 
the  discussion  what  was  best  to  be  done  in  case  of  a 
wreck.  Should  we  try  our  fortunes  for  the  while  on 
board  the  Rescue  ?  She  would  probabl]i^iO|;  the  first 
to  go,  and  could  hardly  hope  for  a  more  proHacted  fate 
than  her  cons9rt.  Or  should  we  try  l(5r  tllff  shore,  and 
what  shore  ?  Admiralty  Inlet,  or  Pond's  Bay,  or  the 
River  Clyde  ?  We  have  no  reason  to  suppose  the  Es- 
quimaux are  accessible  on  the  coast  in  winter;  and 
if  they  are,  they  can  nol  have  provisions  for  such  a 
hungry  re-enforcement  as  ours ;  besides,  the  chance  of 
reaching  land  from  the  drift-field  through  the  broken 
ice  between  them  is  slender  at  the  best  for  men  worn. 
down  and  sick  ;  much  more  if  they  should  attempt  to 
carry  two  months'  stores  along  with  them.  There  was 
only  one  other  resort,  to  camp  out  on  the  floe,  if  it 
should  kindly  offier  us  a  foothold,  and  then  move  as 
best  we  might  from  one  failing  homestead  to  another, 
like  a  band  of  Arabs  in  the  desert.  Happily,  Captain 
De  Haven  was  spared  the  necessity  of  choosing  be- 
tween the  alternatives :  the  ice-storm  did  not  reach  us. 
*^ January  15.  The  moon  is  now  nearly  full.  Her 
light  mingles  so  with  the  twilight  of  the  sun  that  the 
stars  are  quite  sobered  down.    Walking  out  at  4  P.M., 


*  I  have  avoided  speaking  of  my'brothcsr  officers.  From  myself,  a  subordin- 
ate, only  accidentally  recording  their  exertions,  it  woul^  be  out  of  place ;  yet 
I  should  speak  the  sentiment  of  all  on  board  were  I  to  recognize  how  much  we 
owed  to  our  executive  officer,  Mr.  Griffin.  All  our  systematized  preparation  for 
the  contingencies  which  threatened  us,  the  sledges,  the  knapsacks,  the  daily 
training,  and  the  provision  dep6t8,  were  due  to  him.  Our  commander,  thon  so 
ill  with  scurvy  that  we  feared  for  his  recovery,  was  compelled  to  delegate  to 
:rhis  second  la  ciUBsaaBdiaeray  exeeutive  dutiefl  which  he  would  < 


taken  on  himself. 


Vt,^  4K'J 


THE    DRIFT. 


283 


With  the  thermometer  at  -24°,  to  find,  if  I  could  the 
cause  of  a  s„u«i  »  g„„a  j,,,  ,i^^       '  ^f  ^^'^^^^ 

w^  startled  by  a  noise  like  a  ,„a„y  blast,  eXte 
aud  momentary,  followed  by  a  clatter  like  brken  8^7 
Some  l»n  manutes  afterward,  it  was  repeats  an^a 
dark  smokeJie  vapor  rose  up  i„  the  mLnfoht  ?r2- 
th^same  quarter.    These  thing,  keep  us  on  the  ;S 

n:ft^?e,::„^rrnr.tt^rr^-'»- 

»  wonderful  instance  of  ,he7eTdin"elir^  rfT: 

■rth:t-,-rstart':i\-^^^^^^^^^ 

one  hundred  and  thirty  paces  in  its  longer  dfrmXr 
^d  e,ghty.five  in  its  shorter,  and  its  thick'ls  W 
famed  this  mormng  was  over  five  feet.  I  foundl^ 
crossmg  .t  i».day  that  the  surface  presented  a  ZorS 
curve,  »  segment  whose  versed  sL  could  not  ha™ 
been  less  than  eight  feet,  abutted  on  each  side  by  a 
bamcade  of  rubbish.  It  strikes  me  that  the  dehis 
oence  lady's  slipper  or  Hupert's  drop  fashion,  of  suS 
ten  ely.c«mpressed  floes,  must  be  the  cause  of  the  o^d 
explosions  we  have  heard  lately.    At  -30=  or  -40o 

™.  Tf  1"^  """*  ""''  ''"'*'«  •«  Sio^  iteelf;  besides 
one^f  those  yesterday  was  followed  by  a  rin^g 

itv'wTlT'^'^  ''''«»'"«'«  'Hllness,  and  the  fa6il. 
ity  with  which  sound  travels  over  these  Polar  ice 

i^uTu   T " "^ '•'"" '"  »"'  -timate  "f r 

^sTa^h  rfa  ;•  1  T.*  ""*  •"■•^"^  ^*  D'^'eeland 
"^oh  of  a  violent  disruption  of  the  ice,  which  .i,, 

**«*  dectared  they¥ad  heard  at  aeteoTSde  rf^ 


li.iLJk'^n  f-va-i^J  V    '■ 


va^?j  V     ■  f^l 


286 


THE     DRIFT. 


the  brig.  We  had  some  difficulty  in  finding  it :  it  was 
the  closing  of  a  fissure  considerably  more  than  half  a 
mile  off. 

"  As  we  were  returning  we  noticed  some  additional 
result^  of  the  ice  action  of  the  13th.  Among  theiri 
was"  a  table  of  ice,  four  feet  thick,  eighteen  long,  and 
fifteen  broad,  so  curved  without  destroying  its  integ- 
rity as  to  form  a  well-arched  bridge  across  a  water 
chasm.  It  had  evidently  reared  up  high  in  air,  and 
then,  toppling  over,  bent  into  its  present  form — a  mark- 


_i,!1.-i.=  J, 


ed  instance  of  the  segii-solid  or  viscous  character  which 
forms  the  basis  of  Professor  Forbes's  glacial  theory. 
It  is  not,  however,^  the  firet  "extreme  change  of  form 
that  I  have  npticed  in  apparently  matured  ice  at  a  low 
temperature :  its  plasticity  at  +  32°  must  be  much 
greater.         ' 

'  '  "  Observations  by  meridian  altitudes  of  Saturn  and 
Aldebaran  give  us  to-day  a  latitude  of  73°  47'  north. 
Yesterday  we  were  at  73°  5\  This  progress  to  the 
south  is  shown  also  by  the  bearing  of  the  Walter 
Bathurst  coast  in  the  neighborhood  of  Possession  Bay. 
AVe  are  fully  inside  of  Baffin's  Bay,  and  with  the  wind 
at  northwest.  There  are  some  signs  of  ice  trouble 
ahead ;  a  crack  has  been  gradually  opening  toward 


j(i!4r»..vA.  I.'.  . 


^^^^OfiS 


THE    DRIFT. 


287 


our  quarter,  and  has  got  within  eight  hundred  y<„ds 

quiescent;  but  t^Z^Z ZZ^T'^f' 
the  transmitted  ptBssnre  ^"'™f "  *  .  •'""P*^  "'"'«'■ 
a  heavy  sHow.drffilndwifhV^''"'  *'  "'''^'  '"' 
another  cractshlwedfts^f^''  **"'P*""»~  «f  -30°, 

The  shocks  wtrrtachedJrdurC  r  ""*•"■''«'• 
tions  are  noted  iA  the  107^1,     T  *  **"'  ™'""'»- 
the  vessel  ailV  the  f X^tr     TT*^^  ^'''^' 
that  which  has  been  Sl^edXingl'Ctirf 

o„ehrs^^ri;srs"!pt!i^?^r^ 

axil T;  d°im°''ThfV"  """T"'"'  «"  '"•-8«  »  «« 
axis  01  arm.     Ine  changes  of  the  wind  nnrifi,^ 

«n|.  of  Baffin's  Bay  havf  impressed  Ih  ^^C 
whjcl.  surrounds  us  with  a  mari^ed  p4ress  TZ 

"  Throughout  last  night,  and  until  nine  o'cloolt  thi, 
mormng  a  column  of  illumination  depend^f^m  th! 

be  teen  rea^hmg  nearly  to  the  horizon;  wMe  Zit 


\. 


288* 


EFFECTS    OF    NIGHT. 


"Our  snow-water  has  been  infected  for  the  past 
month  by  a  very  perceptible  flavor  and  odor  of  musk, 
to  such  a  degree  sometimes  that  we  could  hardly  drink 
it.  After  niapy  attempts  to  find  out  its  cause,  and  at 
least  as  many  philosophical  disquisitions  to  account 
for  it  without  one,  I  accidentally  saw  to-day  a  group 
of  foxes  on  the  floes  about  our  brig,  who  resolved  our 
doubts  by  an  illustration  altogether  simple  and  natural. 

^* January  22.^ On  reaching  the  deck  at  half  past 
eight  this  morning,  after  my  usual  sleepless  night  in 
the  murky  den  below,  I  found  the  horizon  free  from 
cloud  stratus,  and  the  feeble  foresliadowings  of  day 
bathing  the  snow  with  a  neutral  tint.  By  nine  we 
could  see  to  walk ;  and  as  late  as  "five  in  the  afterrioon, 
the  refraotpd  twilights  hung  about  the  western  sky. 
How  delicious  is  this  sensation  of  coming  day!  In 
less  than  a  fortnight  the  grdat  planet  will  be  lifted  by 
the  bountiful  refraction  of  the  Arctic  circle  into  clear 
eye  presence. 

'<  I  long  for  day.  The  anomaloul  host  of  evils  which 
hang  about  this  vegetation  in  darkness  ard  showing 
themselves  in  all  their  forms.  My  scurvy  patients, 
those  I  mean  on  the  sick-list,  with  all  the,  care  that  it 
is  possible  to  give  them,  are  perhaps  no  worse ;  but 
pains  in  the  joints,  rheumatisms,  coughs,  loss  of  appe- 
tite, and  general  debility,  extend  over  4;he  whole  com- 
pany.  FiiietBn  pounds  of  food  per  diem  are  consumed 
reluctantly  now,  where  thirty-two  were  taken  with 
appetite  on  the  20th  of  October.  We  are  a  ghastly 
set  of  pale  faces,  and  none  paler  than  myself.  I  find 
it  a  labor  to  carry  my  carbine.  My  fingers  cling  to- 
gether in  an-ill-adjustedp/«2:t<«,  likQ  the  toes  in  a  tight 
boot,  and  my  long  beard  is  becoming  as  rough  aiid 
rugged  as  Humphrey  of  Gloster's  ia  the  pliy. ■^~- 


ICE-MASSES. 


289 


but  tr.y  rtietzrit!^:re.if  \^--- 

Batoning  from  a  ohi  aftTr  I^^^^"  ^*"*«'- 
came  across,  yesterday,  a  s«spe„de7huZockt' im' 

feet  si.  inehes,  itsSh  fi%^„f iTlff  t^ 
age  soUd  thickness  eight  feet     At  it''!  t"" 

was  seven  feet  above  thele™l  ;>f,h     ^-     ""  *"!  " 
ite  upper,  twentyZe*    Th  wetht'^r™.*  ""   "' 

alWingnsibs'totheouJofoTCtlw^riSSa'r' 

thehununocks  on  the  coast  of  Siberia    We  We  he£ 
perhaps,  some  five  hundred  fathoms  of  water  T«!t' 

Tnst^^L'.lTry'mtht"'''!^'^"'  "^*^»  ^""'^ 
tic  withfll  ia  +».^       *«ar  mem.    bo  stable  and  so  elai- 


<»  trifling  bf^e  If^f  J    '^'^  ^*^  °*^ 
inmg  oreeze,  if  it  deviates  a  very  few  points 


■M^sir 


290 


EFFECTS    OF    NIGHT. 


from  the  axis  of  the  last  set,  puts  every  thing  into  com- 
motion. 

'' January  23.  The  gale  of  last  night  subsided  into 
the  usual  quiet  but  fresh  westerly  breeze,  sometimes 
inclining  to  the  W.N.W.  To-day  is  very  clear ;  the 
stars,  except  one  or  two  of  the  northern  magnates,  in- 
visible at  noonday;  and  two  or  three  well-marked 
crimson  lines  streaking  the  dawning  zone  above  the 
sun.  The  hills  around  Walter  Bathurst  and  Posses- 
sion Bay,  the  entering  southern  headlands  of  Lancas- 
ter Sound,  have  sunk  in  the  distance.  Two  summits, 
bearing  southwest  by  west,  probably  belonging  to  Pes- 
session  Mount,  are  all  that  remains  of  the  coast.  We 
are  ^ore  than  fifty  miles  from  land,  and  still  drifting 
rapiidly  to  the  east.  To  the  southwest,  by  compass 
(true  i9.E.  i  E.),  little  volumes  of  smoke  have  been  ris- 
ing; but  after  a  tolerably  long  walk,  I  could  not  find 
any  further  signs  of  the  open  water.  We  are  now  in 
latitude  73°  lo^ 

"The  daylight  is  very  sensibly  longer:  the  noon 
was  quite  joyous  with  its  little  crimson  flocculi ;  and 
five,  or  even  five  and  a  half  hours  afterward,  when  we 
looked  toward  the  day  quarter,  instead  of  a  grim  black- 
ness,  or,  as  we  hsid  it  more  recently,  a  stain  of  Indian- 
red,  we  saw  the  pale  bluish  light,  so  gratefully  famil- 
iar at  home." 

The  appearances  which  heralded  the  sun's  return 
had  a  degree  of  interest  for  us  which  it  is  not  easy  to 
express  in  words.  I  have  referred  more  than  once  al- 
ready to  the  effects  of  the  long-continued  night  on  the 
health  of  our  crowded  ship's-  company.  It  was  even 
more  painful  to  notice  its  influence  on  their  temper  and 
spirits.  Among  the  officers  this  :?vas  less  observable. 
Quy  meas  seemed  determined,  come  wrhat  mightrte- 


»r-sa\'. 


^^y'i'"'S'''.' 


EFFECTS    OF    NIGHT. 


291 


maintain  toward  each  othor  ih^^  i. 
manner,  which  thee  who  hi' 1^""^  „"»»'*-^  "' 
togethe»  know  to  be  iU  «, T  T  °  '""^  voyages 
of'n,ut„-.I  reapt^  tit  T ! '''*™'' P^^ 
when  each  had  his  ho„,«  tk-,  T!  ?'"'*  '«"*»'« 
hap,  the  growWprobll  S.  ;  ""''  "'™'™''  P^'" 
aearch  pa^y  mightCS'va  n  hetZ  fotT  ^'""" 

:™lr  7Z'  r  *'''^''  -™  ~opL:o7r: 

With  thfrnen^owZ  t  wLdif  "^rr'^"- 
fident  in  the  re^TcmZ mZTJ    7^*'    ^""^  •""■ 
by  conventional  u^^orl^^'Tt  '7  "^'™"<^ 
communicating  to  e^"  le;SThtlu  ^  *■"■"" 

ris:fh:cStTtrfrr^^^^^^^^^^ 

fraction ;  in  a  word,  aJl  that  could  stimulate  ^r^i  I 

rrSet:r-----^^^»-Tr^s 
.»I''foT:';Sa"^b:u:fTT'?  '"^  •"'*-""' 

above  the  ic^leU  ■*  l7  1'"  """''"S  "P  ^■«'  -lo™ 
nf  rlj  J  !  '"f  ■°«'<>-      It  was  there  sure  enough,  a  disk 

teinZ^b'"^"^,"  ""'"  »  ''^  """i^e  and 
Si  I  w«  at  fiT  T'"™S"el't at; dis. 
Uf  !     *.^*'  a*  firat  as  much  puzzled  as  the  men  • 

2 1  "^  "*  *'"°"'  I  «""  ^aw  that  it  was  notW„; 
ttuVRf  ^-r  *''""'• ''"She  Siir^mf 
r.^  ^  K  ••   "5'«*'»°  ha-l  ™^<1  him  above  th;  hiih 

.«W^JI»«olorw«  rather  more  lurid  than  wheiT- 


292 


APPROACH    OF    DAY. 


he  left  u^  and  the  refraction,  helsides  distorting  his  out- 
line, seemed  to  have  given  him  the  same  oblateness  or 
horizontal  expansion  which  wd'  observe  in  the  disks 
of  the  larger  planets  when  nearipg  the  horizon. 

For  some  days  the  8un-cloiJ4s  at  the  south  had  been 
changing  their  character.  Tiepijr  edges  became  better 
defined,  their  extremities  dqjimtedi  their  color  deeper 
as  well  as  warmer;  and  frtftnHne  spaces  between  the  ^ 
lities  of  stratus  burst  out  a  blaze  of  glory,  typical  of  the 
longed-for  sun.  He  came  at  last :  it  was  on  the  29th. 
My  journal  must  tell  the  story  of  his  welcoming,  at 
the  hazard  of  its  seeming  extravagance :  I  am  content 
that  they  shall  mticise  it  who  have  drifted  fdr  more 
than  twelve  weeite  under  the  night  of  a  Polar  sky. 

"/anwary  29.  troifl^  on  deck  after  breakfasiat  eight 
this  morning,  I  found  the  dawning  far  advanced.  The 
whole  vault  was  bedewed  with  the  coming  day ;  and, 
except  Capella,  the  stars  were  ^one.  The  southern 
horizon  was  clear.  We  were  cenrtain  to  see  the  sun, 
after  an  absence  of  eighty-six  days.  It  had  been  ar- 
ranged on  board  that  all  hands  should  give  him  three 
cheers  for  a  greeting ;  but  I  was  in  no  mood  to  join 
the  sallow- visaged  party.  I  took  my  gun,  and  walked^ 
over  the  ice  about  a  mile  away  from  the  ship  to  a  sol- 
itary spot,  where  a  great  big  hummock  almost  hem- 
med me  in,  opening  only  to  the  south.  There,  Par- 
see  fashion,  I  drank  in  the  rosy  light,  and  watched  the 
horns  of  the  crescent  extending  themselves  round  to- 
ward  the  north.  There  was  hardly  a  breath  of  wind, 
with  the  thermometer  at  only  -19°,  and  it  was  easy, 
therefore,  to  keep  warm  by  walking  gently  up  and 
down.  I  thought  over  and  named  aloud  every  one  of 
our  little  circle,  F.  and  M.,  T.  and  P.,  B.  and  J.,  and 
our  dear,  bright  little  "W. ;  wondered  a  while  whether 


•,./v^. 


I  >SaJ  I 


SUNRISE,  NOON,  AND  SUNSET. 


293 
torpid,  not  worth  the  writtog  dowf  \*  tT*"''  """' 

;^^athe,a«.„tea.o.«^'^r;:;?^r 

side  of  this  m^kedjloi,  T  *"^'"'  ""''  »"  "•"> 
other  .  little  ::,  Pr"entrtr  "'""'' '""' ""  *■"• 
till  the  grave-sod  or  fhTi  ™"  ''™«-  »«W. 

thankfully  with  a  great^Iotu  "a  Jy'tltl     TK '" 

"Cwd'stLr:ta;^f:-^ 

c  :*  :ir  r„tt  "T^  "^-i"e  wi^^^^^^^ 

out  of  Tom     Thev  !h  if;"  ""l"^  ^"''  ^"'^^^  the  T 
"1  xuin.     1  ney  shall  draw  Iot«s  fnr  if  ,v  «       t 

««#-.ffiei^^,i^S.^  weight  *a._ 


«Bfflm»„**        .^^      '™  'B^  twilight  wa»^ 
,^^ffio.ent  to  guid-e  a  walking  party  Ter  ThT 


*rfi  »j<j(  i  .v-  ■-   ' 


t  i^ 


294 


THERMOM^ETERS. 


\ 


floes.  I  have  described»the  phenomena  at  eight.  At 
nine -the  deck-lantern  was  doused.  By  llh.  14m.  or 
15m|  those  on  board  had  the  first  glimpses  of  the  sun; 

\At  5/  P.M.  we  had  the  dim  twilight  of  evening. 
\  "  Our  thermometric  records  on  board  ship  can  not 
be  relied  on.  I  mention  the  fact  for  the  benefit  of 
thosle  who  may  hereafter  consult  them.  My  w:ooden. 
cased  Pike  thermometer,  hung  to  a  stanchion  on  the 
Hpithern  bekm  of  the  brig,  gave  at  noonday  - 19° ;  ex- 
posed  t<j>  the  sun's  rays  on  the  southern,  —  14Q.  The 
observation  repeQ.ted  at  J2h.  30m.,  gave  -20°  for  the 

•^prtheiijri.^^    —15°  for  the  southern  side;  liie  differ- 
ence in  ippylt-case  being  five  degrees.     The  same  ther- 
lomet^^  iiwefiiUy  exposed  about  a  hundred  yards 
^rom  the  sihip,  ^1^  at  noon,  on  the  north  and  wind- 

Ijward  side,  -21°;  on  the  south,  exposed  teethe  sun, 
- 18° ;  and  at  thirty  minutes  afterward  (nearly),  on  the 
north,  -20°  5' ;  toward  the  sun,  - 16°.  The  difference 
in  these  last  observations  Of  3°  in  the  first  and  4°  5'  in 
the  second  was  owing  unmisj^kably  to  the  effect  of  the 
solar  rays.  The  ship's  record,  for  the^same  hours  was 
pimply  —19°  and  -18°.     The  fact  is,  that  there  is  al- 

"  "Vvays  a  varying  difference  of  two  to  five  degrees  of  tem- 
perature between  the  lee  and  weather  sides  of  the  brig; 
the  quarter  of  the  wind  and  its  intensity,  the  state  of 
our  fires,  the  open  or  shut  hatches,  and  other  minor 
circumstances,  determining  what  the  difference  shall 
be  at  a  particular  time. 

"^  "January  30.  The  crew  determined  to  celebrate  *E1 
regresado  del  sol,'  which,  according  to  old  Costa,  our 
Mahoii^se  seaman,  was  a  more  holy  day  than  Christ- 
mas or  A^U-Saints.  Mr.  Bruce,  the  diversely  talented, 
favored  tis  with  ft  new  line  of  theatrical  exhibition,  a 
itkerlissemmi  of  dpmes^fr«>mpo8itioBy  *  ThfrCot 


fl  i.SiS'^-'^  r'" 


,  A         »  ,rf    •■■■ 


1    Si4,,Sti)AW<£.W 


THE    PLaV. 


295 


A  Song 


Countryman 

Landlady . . 
Servant 


THE  OOUNTRTHAIV, 


•By  R.  Bruce. 


R-  Baggs. 

C.  Berry. 

...T.  Dunning. 


Harlequin 

Old  Man 

Rejected  Lover , 
Columbine. 


PANTaniHE. 


...James  Johnson. 

' R.  Bruce. 

A.  Canot. 

James  Smith. 


Doors  to  be  opened  at  8  o'clock     rwIiTi     '■  ^ — — 

\,:  '  .         Staob  Makaokb, 

"T" ■ • '■ S.BENJAMIN. 

The  strictest  order  -ilHe^^ii^^Wb^^ 

whlh  Te!:ZZ  oHiT  *^P^«--d-at  boxes, 
the  ice     Tho  "^  "l^^'^-^^-nd^ed)  for  flinging  out  uoon 

of  the  pantomime  afteWh  f *  "  *»  """'"e 

An  «W  man^Sr'  B™™t   '°»»«  «f  «•«  newspaper. 


:°^^a.a;a.i^za^:iS'°-^ggl 


.4 


■•rafVAi  •  i    « '' 


^- 


iiiSi.* 


296 


THE    PLAY. 


lover  (M.  Auguste  Canot,  ship's  cook),  and  Columbine 
(Mr.  Smith)  exercised  the  same  over  the  old  man. 
Harlequin  (Mr.  Johnson),  however,  by  the  aid  of  a 
split-shingle  wand  and  the  charms  of  his  *'  motley 
wear,"  secures  the  affections  of  Columbine,  cajoles  the 
old  man,  persecutes  the  forlorn  lover,  and  carries  off 
the  prize  of  love ;  the  fair  Columbine,  whp  had  been 
industriously  chewing  tobacco,  and  twirling  on  the 
heel  of  her,  boot  to  keep  herself  warm,  giving  him  a 
sentimental  kiss  as  she  left  the  stage.  A  still  more 
sentimental  song,  sung  in  seal-skin  breeks  and  a  "nor- 
wester,'"  and  a  potation  all  round  of  hot-spiced  mm 
toddy,  concluded  the  entertainments. 
The  thermometer  stood  at  —7°. 


THE  UBCUI,  IN  LAKCMTIB  lOUMB. 


ff  > 


¥^-    *' 


"~.''7.7:'V.^V    '"■<».,'    li  [1,1     .1  mil  jmufwy 


CHAPTER  XXXIV.  >. 


but  filled  with  minute  spicute    ^7)7"  ""^  "''""• 
"ig  more  intense:  our  Znth  ''' '''^ ''«'""»■ 

-32",my.pirit.tanaJdtr34o':X-  ^'-"O  »« 
at  -380.    The  ice  that  had  forme'd  h  j     ''  T""""' ' 
since  our  break-np  of  Jan.ZJ  ,^u       ''^°°"  *''«  Ao^s 
ty-seven  inches  thil  37Jf  l"  ^'«.  '^'^'"ly  'wen- 
of  five  inches  in  the  IwlT  f  '"basing  at  the  rate 
crackled  under  "he  intelett"  ^"™•    ™e  floes 
explosions  around  us  wUclt l'^    *"  ''™"'  '<""' 
kad  seen  land  service  iTitti"™  °"  T"™'  *'>'' 
to  the  sound  of  a  musC  firedl!'        '^"^  ^'^  "P^X 

The  6th  was  stm  Ser     4f  *" '"'P'y  *"*"• 
■»y  spirit  standard  w^  at  -400  TiVn  "r™""^ 
W  been  graced  with  some  hours  ot^Lu-'    T™'' 
«rked  and  played  foot-baU  "u"  1  tt       '^^f  *" 
were  many  of  us  in  .  „,„f  ™  '"«  *'"  we 

■"orning  my  mTrclal  ^b       '^'^P'™"™-    The  next 

on.  of  the  spirit  sta„da«ls  indicated  th.""^'  '"«'^' 
PP  to  this  peHod,  it  was  ourtwetJt^ZT^'- 
Thefrozenmercurrresemhl.Ji  temperature. 
<«»tlychUled  after  „J^m"v'"  «PPe«ance  lead,  re. 
"«  edge,  easily  e„rJhi^*K  ^"^  ~""  <""*  ""e  thin, 
"was  heap^7p7^^  *'f  T"^""■''=  ■»"  '^'"ere 
it  was  teniI„/;„T^  3^  ""^o  "'l  *f  «"M  »«»«, 

Jacturedsurfaw  ^    -  °°*''''  *"  Proout,  n 


so 


^'l' 


./. 


1 

1  '1   » 


\    T 


298 


METEORS. REFRACTION. 


Between  six  and  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  the 
2d,  we  had  a  magnificent  though  nearly  colorless  ex- 
hibition  of  the  aurora ;  and  on  the  7th,  at  lOh.  20m. 
A.M.,  the  southern  sky  presented  the  appearance  of  a 
day  aurora  attending  on  the  sun.  The  observations 
which  I  made  of  these  two  phenomena  may  be  the 
subject  of  a  distinct  chapter ;  T  will  only  say  here,  that 
it  was  difficult  to  doubt  their  identity  of  character  or 
cause.  We  had  several  displays  of  the  paraselene,  too, 
in  the  earlier  days  of  the  month,  and  an  almost  con- 
stant deposition  of  crystalline  specks,  which  covered 
our  decks  with  a  sort  of  hoar-frost.  The  rate  of  this 
deposition  on  the  vesselwas  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
in  six  hours ;  but  in  an  ice-basin  on  the  floes,  surround- 
ed by  hummocks,  and  thus  protected  fepm  the  wind,  I 
found  it  nine  inches  deep. 

When  accumulated  in  this  manner,  it  might,  on  a 
hurried  inspection,  be  confounded  with  snow ;  but  it 
differs  as  the  dew  does  from  rain.  It  is  directly  con- 
nected with  radiation,  and  is  most  copious  under  a 
clear  sky.  Snow  itself,  the  flaky  snow  of  a  clouded 
atmosphere,  has  not  been  noticed  by  us  when  the  tem- 
perature was  lower  than  —8°  or  at  most  —10°.  Our 
last  snow-fall  was  on  the  1st  of  February  and  the  day 
preceding.  It  began  with  the  thermometer  at  -1°, 
and  continued  after  it  had  sunk  to  —  9°;  but  it  had 
ceased  some  time  before  it  reached  —13°. 

"February  9.  To-day  we  had  a  sky  of  serene  purity, 
and  all  hands  went  out  for  a  sanitary  game  of  romps 
in  the  cold  light.  Presently  three  suns  came  to  greet 
us — strange  Arctic  parhelia — and  a  great  golden  cross 
of  yellow  brightness  uniting  them  in  one  system.  Un- 
der the  glare  of  these  we  played  foot-ball. 

"At  meridian  we  made  a  rough  horizon  of  the  ice, 


Av 


^'U'i^  ■»*' 


■fyn^f-^ 


aEFKACTlON. 


299 


aud  found  ourselves  in  latitude  about  72°  Ifi-  a,,v.- 
tae  another  marvel  rose  before  u^iL  TK  ""' 
ster  was  to  tile  W  S  W  ir.  X  V^^  '  "« ™<"i. 
topped  hills,  lifted  up  fo  The  «  ^^"^  *^"  "»'"'■ 
view.    An  hour  or  t^olLlrKTl'""  »•"•"«"  of 

,  mg,  these  hiiis  cz::^^:^^^:  ^  "■"  ™»- 

tamoated  cones,  the  spTcZ  of  .l.       then  aline  of 

Inking  a  few  r;un»tes'C  outTtlJ^Se^d""'' 
our  felt  house  the  nni4  «  ""^®  door  m 

where  for  this  hit  foCiX^r/  ""'  '^■'^^-  ^ 
has  been  »tretohi„gTthe  f^r  tlih  "^'""^  "^  »<"' 
of  icebergs  standing  aJoL  in  tb  r  '**  "  """P'o 
shadowytops their pl;tom«*y:  »<l  "'  their 
*h«  time  tdo  mountainTa^TI^  "'  "'™''^-  »/ 
the  long  U^of^Z^e^dtl,  ^T'^'  *""»' '»«' 
clouds.  A  stratl^f  fle^r  """^  '"'"'"^'^'^  *»  «" 
sets  of  images.  *  ''°"""  ««P»"-»te<l  «>«  two 

Grcenland^^  floating  aTo«r«ra  I  °l  ""  *«  "^*  »' 
«<toonish  us  only  of  o«  b  i  i  '"""  '**■  ^ow  they 
before  us.  We  sho.Jdll^T"'"  ""'*  "^  f^^^ 
clouds.  "''*  **  »'»<'  *»  ^o^V  them  ii  the 

yet  Sly™  nouT  MyT'^  ""^5  '"<"*-  ^ough  as 
«.e  •We'^of  arulmo"[,^\:~;™»-ter,  in 

bng,  gave  us  at  noon  -2lo  «-  " /„  I  *""  *« 
of  the  same  hummock  -L  '  Vt.  '"it  """"^  ^''« 
hefore  a  W«,kboard  *  ^"  Ji^;-^". thermometer. 
Twenty  minutes  later  ^hT.^  ""■•  """  **  -'°- 


^S^' 


300 


THE    DRIFT. 


inches;  three  quarters  of  an  inch  less  than  our  meas- 
urements  of  it  a  week  ago.  A  thermometer  plunged 
two  feet  deep  in  a  bank  of  light  snow-drift  indicated 
-12°... 

''Februar^^O.  A  hazy  day;  with  moonlight,  and  a 
drizzling  fall  of ^roken  spiculae  following  it.  Mr.  Mur- 
daugh  obtained  o^serva^ons  for  meridian  altitude  and 
time-sights  of  Aldeb^ran :  our  latitude  is  72°  19',  our 
longitude  68°  55^  Hi^  winds  have  been  unfavorable 
to  the  rapidity  of  our  drill,  which  has  been  reduced  in. 
its  rate  since  our  observation  Jon  this  29th  of  January 
from  five  and  a  quarter  to  fo^ir  miles  a  day.  It  may 
be  that  our  approach  to  the  rt^irrower  parts  of  the  bay 
and  the  increased  cold  togethier  have  been  disturbing 
causes  in  the  movement  of  t)ie  great  pack ;  but  the 
wind  has  been  the  most  important  in  its  influence. 

"  To  Ipok  at  the  completely  unbroken  area  which 
shows  itself  from  our  mast-head,  motion  would  be  the 
last  idea  suggested.  In  Lanqaster  Sound  the  chang- 
ing phases  of  the  coast  gave  us  a  feeling  of  progress, 
movement,  drift — ^that  gensatibn  of  change  so  pleasing 
to  one's  ijjcomprehensible  morkl  machinery.  But  here, 
with  this  circle  of  impenetrable  passive  solidity  every 
where  around  us,  it  is  hard  to  realize  that  we  move. 
But  for  the  stars,  my  convictions  of  rest  would  be  ab- 
solute.  Yet  we  have  thus  traveled  upward  of  three 
hundred  miles.  I  shall  not  poon  forget  this  inevitable 
march,  with  its  alternations  of  gloomy  silence  and 
fierce  disruptions. 

*' February  11,  W^diiesday.  Day  very  hazy,  and 
nothing  to  interrupt  rts  monotony.  •  It  requires  an  ef- 
fort to  bear  up  against  this  solemn  transit  of  unvary- 
ing time. 

"I  will  show  you^how- 1  spend  one  of  the^e  days— 


1  4'.j.'»  ,  ^         .* 


ROUTINE    LIF 


301 


that  is,  all  of  them  Tf  ,•«.  *u 
offer  for  my  mea£rene.s  of  UtuI'^''  ft""""  ^  "''» 
we  used  to  talk  about-evL  t"  *  .  '  ""*  '*''^y 
you  are,  could  not  study  i„  thlT' .  "'"*  *»''''«  "s 

"  Within  a  little  area  'h„  ^"'"'  '"«'<»'»• 
•ian  father's  libraryt^oitvTth"'.™"'*"''  "«« '"^^ 
of  thirty-three  hearty  eliTILf  "S  '^  ""'f  "«■?''-« 
Three  stoves  and  a  cooking  ..n  ,*««'  I  am  one. 
three  bear-fat  lamps  burn  whh^^'"'''  *""  ^rgand  a»,d 
Ji  Arine.  Damp%„rrsoI'J  '^ ?" "^^^ »'»  A 
siek  men  cookery,  towlr ^  T'^''^^ 
compounding  their  effluvi«  7      'j    ''  ""'K^stion  are 

Hour  by  hoar,  and  da7Zr/ar1r''  *"'^»  '»«• 
;P  retire  to  or  a  bianket„,S' tTl?* '™°  "'""''' 
«.- make  up  the  reality^o^Ty  ^:^''«  "*'  *^  -« 

'Outside,  grim  death  in  th«  .K         . 
'ng-most  f«>lishly,  libTJ    /    E""     '*""•  "  *^- 
•kese  his  allies.    Mv  berfi       .      "'""  '""^  »«gy  of 
riglrt  under  the  hateh      4  tT''°"  "P»"  *-'  •>««  d^ok, 
lead  of  my  cot,  gi™' a  i"'T'""«'«'-.Pl'«'ed  at  the 

»)'ftet,nn'derth!rrh*ar+trrr  "'''^^  "* 
feet,  vapor  at  my  head     Tk    T       *°  "■*°— ioeatmv 

W  officer,  from  60° T  6™"'"'  '''«'^*«'  •>/  th'  med! 

«.« leri^'lrh^Lts?"'-  r"  »'•"»''•  -«• 

»«I»rts  himself  youVbrother     H  °"  '■"*'•     ^hu. 

■"teofhisblankeis,  Jdrinksa^"  "%  "^  »  *« 
em  nose,  and  xaouthlu         *  *'"'  "'^"oW  water  ^ 

»««l«e  evaporation     Oh  ,^PPy  ""''  ''"'Pl'laok  Md 

•»!',Thatover,rS;.b2ta  in7  ?'^°'*'"f  'l^'  *«ter 
VMorton,  mish.lS=e^f4'"'^*""'-^'>™>'«ht«,und 

"•.  V  the  aid  of  rh..3  ,      .  *'  ""^ '"  «>"  mixt 
'keleton,  friotionizing.  "'      «"°'  °^" ''«  ™tire 


>^ 


'-r 


302 


ROUTINE    LIFE. 


*^ 


"  Thi^  done,  comes  the  dressing — ^the  two  pairs  of 
stockings,  the  tteee  under-shirts,  the  fur  outer  robing, 
and  the  seal-skin  boots ;  ^nd  then,  with  a  hurried  coUgh 
of  disgust  ajid  semi-suffocation,  he  is  on  deck.  There 
the  air,  pure  and  sharply  cold,  now  about  26°  or  30°, 
last  week  40°  below  zero,  braces  you  up  like'  peach 
and  honey  in, a  Virginiai  fog,  or  a  tass  of  lUQuntain 
dew  in  the  Highlands.  Then  to  breakfast.  Here 
aire  the  mess,  with  the  fresh  smell  of  overnight  undis- 
turbed,and  on  our  table  griddle  cakes  of  Indian  meal, 
hominy,  and  mackerel :  with  hot  coffee  and  good  ap- 
petites, wp  fall  to  manfully. 

"  Breakfast  over^  on  go  the  fur&^ain ;  and  we  es- 
cape  from  the  accumulating  fumes  of  *  servants'  hall,' 
walking  the  floes,  or  climbing  to  the  tops,  till  we  are 
frozen  enough  to  go  below  again.  One  hour  spent  now 
in  an  attempt  at  study— vai^ly  enough,  poor  devil! 
But  he  doe^s  try,  and  what  little  he  does  is  done  then. 
By  half  past  ten  our  entire  little  band  of  officers  are 
out  upon  thfi  floes  for  a  bout  at  anti-scorbutic  exercise, 
a  game  of  romps :  first  foot-ball,  at  which  we  kick  till 
our  legs  ache ;  next  sliding,  at  which  we  sUde  until 
we  can  slide  no  more :  then  off*,  with  carbine  on  shoul- 
der, and  Henri  as  satellite,  on  an  ice-tramp,     v 

"Coming  back,  dinner  lags  at  two.  Then  for  the 
afternoon — God  spare  the  man  who  can  with  un- 
scathed nose  stand  the  effluvium.  But  night  follows 
soon,  and  with  it  the  saddening  question,  What  has 
the  day  aphieved  2  And  then  we  stretch  ourselves  out 
under  the  hatdhw,  aad  sleep  to  the  music  of  our  thirty 
odd  room-mates. 

''February  14,  Friday.  A  glorious  day,  with  the  sun 
from  nine  to  half  paist  twa    Three  bergs  seen  by  re- 
"^fraction.     The  mercuryrose  to  +2  over  aTbla^k  sfiffer 
turned  toward  the  sun.     To-day  the  usual  foot-hall. 


jAk;i-.\- 


.'    <.^-^,,.J 


THE    COLD. 


803 


mime.    The  sitting te^^eSS;  wt-fo'^Lr'T 
ade,  -36°;  behind  the  scenes  -2^^    A  fl  ;  "^ 

by  the  delicate  Miss  Jem  Smitl.  '  "^  «**-'«'°  »»«<1 
atrical  eiTect  of  bumi^rby  "olj  T  *•";  ""^l*'''- 
«.  ;nuch  in  her  bare  slefveTald  h.nH  w""  f"^''^ 
the  iron  t«nch*d  she-.w^id  r"w  '  "*  "^"''"™' 
IteoncU.dedwithho^hXdX"'""'"'"*'  ""* 

ingthe  remaininga;^-  mf;L  T^  "'"'""*'»»  <<"•, 
moment  of  setting  asWif  j  T  ™'P"«'> »'  ">« 
rose  into  »X  tt  ;^t:^"'¥,"^.T,'''^''  P«* 
timated  by  the  latsstT.!  ,°"  ''^**'"*-  <^  ^ 

IB  well  as  other^^  so  at  u  ! T  '"S^S*  «»>»  V  done 
he scmmbled up aiChl^  Ir. a?^'^*'"''  ^'^ *■•«" 
^self  into  a  »f  fo^bl  Z^t^r^'  '  ""**^ 
with  the  thermoiieter  at  -«"^™1  f "  "?"""«■ 
below  the  freezine  Doint  m!.  '  '',™'"y-*>«  degrees 
When  aboat  thr^Srom  L7^  T  * '""«  ""o- 
»p:  it-was  very  Zae-  Cf  .  '!;'"'r""'P'*"ff 

ci:s*ti?r'^:^z";i,red''rirf  ^■ 

tomed  to  cold  thaf  T  ^.m  *  i.  V®  ^'^^  s®  accus- 
back,  thoCh  it  wl  m^^^  suffer  during  our  walk 
crossing.  """"'^  *^^  ^  *^««'  «f  hummock 


rdSrun^STurable  of  these  extreme- 


$«^< 


*-■ 


■Mi 


304 


THE    BIRTH-DAY. 


/ 


ly  low  temperatures  is  a  pain  between  the  eyes  and; 
over  the  forehead.  This  is  quite  severe.  It  remind^ 
ed  me  of  a  feeling  which  I  have  had  from  over-large 
quantities  of  ice-cream  or  ice- water,  held  against  the 
roof  of  the  mouth.  I  reached  the  brig  in  a  fine  glow 
of  warmth,  having  skated,  slid,  and  made  the  most  of 
my  time  in  the  open  air. 

"An  increased  disposition  to  scurvy  shows  itself. 
Last  week  twelve  cases  of  scorbutic  gums  were  not- 
ed at  my  daily  inspections.  In  addition  to  these,  I 
have  two  cases  of  swelled  limb's  and  extravasated 
blotches,  with  others  less  severely  marked,  from  the 
same  obstinate  disease.  The  officers  too,  the  cap- 
tain, Mr.  Lovell,  and  .Mr.  Murdaugh,  complain  of 
stifi*  and  painful  joints  and  limbs,  with  diarrhoea  and 
iihtiaired  appetite:  the  doctor  like  the  resj.  At  my 
r(^(g^mm6ndation,  the  captain  has  ordered  an  increased 
allowance  of  fresh  food,  to  the  amount  of  twq  com- 
plete extra  daily  rations  per  man,  with  potp,toes,  saur- 
kraut,  and  stewed  apples;  and  we  have  enjoined  more 
active  and  continued  daily  exercise,  more  complete 
'  airing  of  bedding,  &c.'  I  have  commenced  the  use 
of  nitro-muriatic  acid,  as  in  syphilitic  and  mercurial 
cases,  by  external  friction. 

"  The  st3,te  of  health  among  us  gives  me  great  anx- 
iety, and  not  a  little  hard  work.  Quinine,  the  salts 
of  iron,  &c.,  &o.,  are  in  full  requisition  For  the  first 
time  I  am  without  a  hospital  steward. 

,^It  is  Washington's  birth-day,  when  *  hearts  should 
be  glad;'  but  we  have  no  wine  for  the  dinner-table, 
and  are  too  sick  for  artificial  merriment  without  it. 
Our  crew,  however,  good  patriotic  wretches,  got  up  a 
theatrical  performance,  ♦  The  Irish  Attorney ;'  Pierce 
feJE©n4>y^^©^miraWe-Brac^©ur  Gricht 


*^l  lA.     fl  »■     i**!^* 


t^. 


vi«.^"jiW«W«" 


THE    COLD. 


30S 


The  ship's  thermometer  outside  was  at  ^i«o  t  m 
among  audience  and  actors  by"  U  rfT'  }"'"'''• 
and  housings,  we  got  aa  high  L  300  t,""^'  '"'T' 
sixty-two  below  the  freezinfprint "  n^ll,  T'  T'^ 
est  abnosplieric  record  of  „  ^r  *      f'"'"'''')'  "•«  low- 

"It  was  a  string:  thWaSt  "T'"**'™- 
sation.was  so  excelive  Zt t?  J, „u  k  ^"T  '^"^T 
performers:  they  walked  in  7  i     j    -    '^'^ ^**  *« 
extra  vehemenceVd  ^™r;^^^"'"''''  "^  ™r-    Any 
nines  of  smolie     Tl,«  1,»  j^  was  accompanied  by  vol- 

ed  TJre^Sn  took  off  Ms  h^t    r'*";    ^""^  »  -"='*■ 
potatoes'^  men  he  sti„d  'C     r"^*^  '*«  "  "^i*  "^ 

^^v^.w™at:edtxs:^z:r7:t- 

N:a.fcr^Zct-*«'--"-r5^ 

"Pfl, Jv,;        ,i,        "  ^^^'^  bound.with  gladness. 

KKrcrtir^fL"^^^^^^^^ 

work  brinffs  exfm  -.roo,  ^  "^^  Arctic 

»^.  f xtr^rberh,:  Tw^k^rir 

t^  fasttoZ  C  TLrh  *»"^"\  "■»  "  i"*ntly 
only  a  smart  null  an/  i.  T^  "°*'''''S  "«»''  <»'«ns 

^g,  my  mitten  was  itself  a  mass  of  ice  in  a 


306 


SNOW-RUBBIJIO. 


moment :  it  fastened  on  the  upper  side  of  my  tongue, 
and  flattened  it  out  like  a  batter-cake  between  the 
two  disks  of  a  hot  griddle.  It  required  all  my  care, 
with  the  bare  hands,  to  release  it,  and  that  not  without 

.  laceration. 

^^  February  25.  A  murky  day.  Two  hundred  and 
forty-four  fathoms  of  line  gave  no  bottom  at  the  air- 
hole.  Scurvy  getting  ahead,  ^egan  using  the  rem- 
nant  of  our  fetid  bear's  meat :  nasty  physio,  but  we 
will  try  it.  It  is  colder  to-day,  with  the  wind  and  fog 
at  -15°,  thftn  a  few  days  ago  at  —46°.  Wind  south 
by  east :  sun  not  seen. 

^^  February  26,  Wednesday.  The  sun  came  back 
again  with  such  vigor,  that  my  spirit  standard  rose 
over  black  to  +14° ;  my  glass— cased,  to  +35°.  The 
difiiBrence  between  shade  and  sunshine  is  30° :  a  ther- 
mometer freely  suspended  in  shade  and  in  sun  gave 
—32°  and  —2°.  Black  surfaces  begin  to  scale  off 
their  snowy  covering,  not  by  thawing  attended  by 
moisture^  but  with  a  manifest  diminution  in  the  te- 
nacity and  adhesiveness  of  the  snow.  We  observe 
these  indications  of  retuflltiig  heat  olose}y. 

"  The  scurvy  has  at  last  fairly  extended  to  our  own 
little  body,  the  oflicers.  Pains  in  the  limbs,  and  deep- 
seated  soreness  of  the  bones,  seem  to  be  its  most  com- 
mon demonstration.  The  complaint  is  of  '  a  sort  of 
tired  feeling,'  or  as  if  f  they  had  had  a  beating.'  Our 
usual  supper,  the  saur-krout,  has  become  excessively 
popular.  Even  the  abused  bear  is  not  quite  as  bad  as 
it  was. 

"The  crew  have  been  £noW;rubbing  their  blankets^ 
The  snow  is  so  fine  and  sand-like,  t^at  under  these 
low  Arctic  temperatures  it  acts  mechanically,  and  is 

_an  effectual  cleanser.-  WithaLit^oiL  befttit-WflllM^ 


THE    INSECT. 


307 


on  the  lower  decks  th„  .^  .        . .      "  '•wg-lines 
specm  land  a  J„t  ol  AdreiiT  "'.  "^"^  ""' 

.hapes  oval,  houtriL  In^t'  "^T  *'"'  *'"''«  J  it^ 
tim^iti8exX„fhSr,^'T» ''"»"•    Some. 

wdTSa^txrr4f«- 

a  crepitating,  inaectine  wl     Now  Tf  "^  ""^ 
every  where  else  withonf  vff  '  "*  ''°"«'  ^^ 

or  .lime  of  snai  h1  "t  ft  f "  *""  J'  "^  '"''«P«''' 
«>rihe.  surpri^,  p,ef  :^;  Tt''',:^''^"J"^'^  *»  -i^ 
dermeut,  I  oanirht  mv  I„^„  ^i  ,^  t-know-why  won. 
finger.^         *     ^  '"'^  ^^^''^  '«'t«'oe»  Uiumb  and 

"An  ail  insect  would  be  in  «,;.  j  ^ 

"Old,  an  impossibility  „e^'  ^,    1  ^T^  ^^  "f 
mow.drift.    Save  »  «!!!      j^  **"  *»""»'<' «  *1>« 

A«.tio  sumJe,  hTv^'l'^"^^'"'  oharaoteri»,d  the 
'Hg  in  the  mat  hZ  ?  j  .  '  '  "'***'*'=  "»  «J«nor. 
»o»th.  Thf^lLT/""*  ''»*«'••«»>'««  of  the  middle 
»»ter.    ThlS^br    .°T?*  *"  '"P"""  »f  open 


^««.&armyownde.rhome.    Thecro4in1^ 


308 


THE    SCURVY. 


dark  bird  of  winter,  dings  to  the  in-shore  deserts.  The 
tern  are  far  away,  and  so,  thank  Heaven,  are  the 
musquitoes.  There  are  no  bugs  in  the  blankets,  no 
nits  in  the  hair,  no  maggots  in  the  clieese.  No  specks 
of  life  glitter  in  the  sunshine,  no  sounds  of  it  float 
upon  the  air.  We  are  without  a  single  sign,  a  single 
instinct  of  living  thing. 

"If  now,  with  the  thermometer  eighty  degrees  be. 
l(k»r  the  freezing  point,  and  the  new  sun  casting  a 
cold  gray  sheen  upon  the  snow,  you  leave  the  thirty, 
one,  to  whom  you  are  the  thirty-second,  and  walk  out 
upon  the  ice  away  oflF— -so  far  that  no  click  of  hammer 
nor  drone  of  voice  places  you  in  relation  with  that 
little  outside  world — then  you  will  knov^  how  I  felt 
when  I  caught  that  *  creeping  wonder'  on  my  rein. 
deer  hood.     It  was  a  frozen  feather. 

''February  27,  Thursday.  An  aurora  passing  through 
thd^zenith,  east  and  west,  at  3h.  30m.  this  raiwning. 
What  little  wind  we  have  is  coming  feebly  froi 
west  and  southwest.  The  theimometer  has  traveled 
'  from  —40°  to  —31°,  and  the  sun  is  out  again  in  benign 
lustre.  A  difference  of  27°,  due  to  his  influence,  was 
evident  as  early  as  lOh.  20m.,  viz.:  Green's  spirit 
standard  gave,  in  shade,  -33°;  over  black  surface,  in 
sunshine,  -7°  and  -6°.  At  noonday,  the  same  ther- 
mometer  gave  +2.  My  glass — cased,  hot-house  Uke, 
gaverthe  pleasant  deception  of  +40°. 

"  Still  the  scurvy  increases.  I  am  down  myself  to- 
day with  all  the  premonitories.  It  is  strangely  de- 
pressing:  a  condentrated  'fresh  cold'  pain  extends 
searchingly  from  top  to  toe.  I  am  so  stiff  that  it  is 
only  by  an  effort  that  I  can  walk  the  deck,  ftnd  that 
limpingly.  Once  out  on  the  floes,  my  energies  excited 
-and  m^  Jalood  wwmed  by  exercise,  I  can  troanp^awfy- 


freely;  back  agaiii,  I  stiffen. 


k 


■M^'^c*^  ^ 


*    . 


OUR    COOKS. 


309 


.  captain  i/the  FrenS  L*     "  ""'!   <^'"'"''''  '''"''er. 
with  Oudinot,  l„rth  th?  • '  r  f "'  "''"«  »«"'''« 

oftor,  the  son  had  Lured  nn.u^  7'  ^  '^^  """"'hs 
for  the  affair  at  iy„„"  IT"  °i"'  °'"  "-""iemned 
the  United  State,  The  1,?.'  "  '^^^l*'™  ""'^"  «» 
i;  no.  BooiUng  salt  iu^icTBStr^''^.^''""'' 
frire,  the  modest  but  mft,,,!  H.„  ,.^  ^'  ■""  "»•• 
soldier,  is  a  Wter  IS  „  «  '.  °"^'' '' """^ 
the  gl^iers  of  La  W     H  1*'^*  ^'^  '««  ■«»<»•? 

!>»«*    He  passed  through  thifl."       ^"''''"  "'"''■ 
to  ^y.-opBcathedr  and  but  fer  »         ""'*"'  *''°8« 
me»t,  mightbe  noW  at  itli^  ""'"°"'  *«'»P««^ 
»d  bad  Bordeaux    It™  i  ^'^v '  "P?  ^ood  wages 
«ve  by  t«mperam:^t,!7U  ;^':^». '-''-*■•-■'• 
it  not  for  the  somewhatlli /"'"""•     ^"» 
molars  and  an  inX^  h^^  ***  <''^'"'»>«™  of  t^vo 
^-ould  be  an  insuS  'etTxCr  TV  1'*"''  '"« 
Us  infirmity  with  aml.M  ^?       ■**  '*  '^'  ^^  treata 
tempt.    He  mI3f  n^^At  '       ?°*  P'"''"^'''''''  <"'"■ 
W,  liver,  i  td^e     rT'f, '"'  "'"  "^  ^''"« 
ff"r  hippurio  and  aXtble  ""Hti  T^^  ^l""'  *"« 
upon  that  most  difflonlt  «Z!ii   *?,."  ''"''*"  ''™«''f 
P.-.husasea.^TiltSr''''''-^'^'-    «""- 

fi»m  the  l^elf  ort^W?!""*'"''''"'^''"'''^"'"''" 
kummocks.     The  7^^  k      ''.'"  """*''«  »<"»  the 


wmcii,  iikSja  huge  gira«,le,  flash. 


ft^Sgai5K3.*£<-"iiS&  ,»!<»., 


-^"VlJ 


?H'^ 


310 


EXERCISE. 


/ 


> 


> 


■10* 


es  the  round  sun.  The  clouds  are  of  a  sort  seldom 
seen,  except  in  the  conceptions  of  adventurous  artists, 
quite  undefinable,  and  out  of  the  line  of  nature,  defy, 
ing  Howard's  nomenclature.  They  are  blocked  out 
in  square,  stormy  masses,  against  a  pearly,  misty  blue 
— ^harsh,  abrupt,  repjilsive,  quite  out  of  keeping  with 
the  kindly  lightness  of  things  belonging  to  the  sky." 

The  lowest  temperature  we  recorded  during  the 
cruise  was  on  the  2  2d  of  this  month,  when  the  ship's 
thermometei-  gave  us  -46°;  mypffship  spirit,  -52°; 
and  my  own  self-registering  instruments,  purchased 
from  ^reen,  placed  on  a  hummock  removed  from 
the  y^^sels,  —53°,  as  the  mean  of  two  instruments. 
;lnay  be  taken  as  the  true  record  of  our  lowest 
ute  temperature. 

Cold  as  it  was,  our  mid-day  exercise  was  never  in- 
terrupted, unless  by  wind  and  drift  storms.  We  felt 
the  necessity  of  active  exercise;  and  although  the  ef- 
fort was  accompanied  with  pains  in  the  joints,  some- 
times  hardly  bearable,  we  managed,  both  officers  and 
crew,  to  obtain  at  least  three  hours  a  day.  The  ex- 
ercise  consisted  of  foot-ball  and  sliding,  followed  by 
regular  games  of  romps,  leap-frog,  and  tumbUng  in 
the  snoV.  By  shoveling  away  near  the  vessel,  we 
obtained  a  fine  bare  surface  of  fresh  ice,  extremely 
glib  and  durable.  On  this  we  constructed  a  skating- 
ground  and  admirable  slides.  I  walked  regularly  over 
the  floes,  lUthough  the  snows  were  nearly  impassable. 

With  all  this,  aided  byfao^s  of  hygienic  resources, 
feeble  certainly,,  bttt  still  the  best  at  my  command, 
spmryy  adtanced  steadily.  This  fearful  disease,  so 
often  warded  oflf  when  in  a  direct  attack,  now  exhib- 
ited itself  iii  a  cachexy,  a  depraved  condition  of  sys- 
tom  sad  to  encounter.    Pains,  diffuse,  and  non-loca-^ 


( 


m' 


THE    SCURVY. 


311 


tabto,  were  combined  with  .„        xl 

These,  of  cZT^L   »»  healthy  eMitement. 
alone:  o,i of  ^Z^Xrr^  ZT  *"  *«  *-- 
strange  to  sav  four  w«,.^      i  '    "**  o' these  five. 

womds  opened;  even  old  hl^      T*  """''«*'  «W 

tati„nam.„,~:r::^-";^y^*h^finestconsti. 
days  purpuric  extrnvoBo«  ^*-    *»  a  few 

ady^2yeni*srrrrertelrf^V''^.r 

«mtio„,  thri  y  nZKhL  k"™"*'  '"'»''*  »»PP»- 


IV  .2.1rt?w 


»i;.'*J^'- 


,  — 'ir 


▲0B0B4  SHN  MVTH  OF  Ckft  FABIWILL. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

It  might  be  supposed,  at  first  view,  that  the  acces- 
sion  of  solar  light  would  be  accompanied  by  increase 
of  temperature.  This,  however,  was  far  from  being 
the  case.  Though  February  had  brought  back  the 
sun,  it  was  the  first  month  throughout  which  the  ice- 
fields remained  frozen  in  their  wintery  rest.  It  was 
our  coldest  month.  This  effect  was  due  to  the  great- 
ly increased  evaporation ;  a  subject  of  frequent  notice 
in  my  journal,  confirming  in  this  the  experience  of 
Ermann  and  other  Siberian  travelers. 

The  renewed  altemjition  of  day  and  night,  with 
their  increased  range  of  diurnal  temperatures,  gave  us 
in  full  perfection  those  different  forms  of  meteoric  ex- 
hibition  which  affect  peculiarly  the  Arctic  zone.  The 
aurora,  with  a  host  of  phenomena  dependent  upon  the 
modifications  of  light,  halos,  coronae,  tangent  cw'cles, 
parhelia,  anfeelia,,  and  pMaselenffi^camaiojiaJn  rftBi^ 


'-■mt. 


METEORS. 


iTrfu^rS  Tf-*^-.  -i*  its  pre. 

The  somtillation  of  the  star-  f  k  *  T* 
oonneoted  with  alternatin«r  T'  ***^*  P^e^omenon  so 
m«i«.  was  wo„derf::i;^'"4^„r  -  fe  „ftao«™ 
whose  distance  made  the  Za-    /''*«*«'  stem, 
to  the  eye,  we«  esp^o  aSytJi'7""™* '«'™''''« 
plonets  shared  in  the  chaL«      f  ?''.=  ''*'  «™''  the 
starsathome.    Ihave^SCL  ™"^«'  ""^^  «•<> 
of  Sirins  and  Aldebaran    b^  t^  f^"'  "^^'^ 
afeeWe  index  of  their  P^fe^t?*    '"?'*'""  8^™ 
«.lor,  which,  with  erL^XnT"^/  *■"*  '"'' 
nightly.  '  ^""*  ™  intensity,  greeted  ns 

roltllf^fe:'  'cll""'^  ".'T"'«>  -  of  the 
.We  fo™  began  X  to^^Z?  °'  '™'^  '■'^■ 
light  too,  that  lonrrrctic  n,  V""°'  ''''« twi- 
ttary  to  aieorrtoL  dT.^°  "^^Pr"'''"'.  soemed,  con- 

t»ry  hnut  toits  extenf lo'l'S:  ^  ly'r  ""■ 
search  would  wiih  i«+«ii    ^^  i  *  °®^"  ^or  re- 

•trnments,  »d^^'S^'^  '»'l««itr.  adequate  in- 
the  ioe-pli.  of  SX^  oo-operation,  have  been 

"TibedrBiot  ™d  T^w    ■    Z  ''"'"»°'  '^i'Phiys  de. 

%liA  «p  1»  in  C^aSa^T™  *=""•«• »'  ""> 
lanoasterWellinatlV?      „  •*"°"'»-    Those  of 

Baffin  ^CSSe'o^r  "'''^'"'''  """^  *«  North 

"J  though  siC:^:  mo^ZTrh^r^if  r '^'^ 


?^« 


"i 


s23r:"'l 


.-  « 


314 


AURORAS. 


,-X.    ■: 


of  the  auroral  displays,  as  compared  with  those  of  the 
Northern  Atlantic,  on  the  Europeaii  side.    I  had  the 

same  feeling.  "  ,  . 

Their  changes  seemed  to  he  dependent  upon  modi- 
fications  rathet  of  intensity  than  fonn.  They  were  ^ 
characterized  hy  neither  active  movement  nor  varied 
coloring.  My  tahular  observations  will  be  published 
elsewhere,  but  I  subjoin  a  rude  attempt  at  analysis  of. 
their  distinctive  features. 

1st.  A  mere  illumination,^pparently  emerging  from 
a  dark  cloud  some  five  degrees  above  the  horizon, 
more  resembling  a  nebulous  patch  or  a  moonlight  cir- 
rus  than  the  auroral  light.  '^ 

2d.  Detached  bands  of  illumination,  impressed 
against  the  sky,  like  a  condensed  nebulosity,  uncon- 
nected with  any  visible  central  arc,  and  distributed 
near  about  the  line  of  the  magnetic^axis  between  the 
horizon  and  the  zenith.  These  were  sometimes  strat- 
iform, converging  by  perspective,  and  reminding  one 
of  the  auroral  plates,  plaques  aurorales  of  Lottin. 

3d.  A  well-marked  zone  or  band,  or  sometimes  sev- 
eral  concentric  ones,  eit^ier  broken  or  continuous,  un* 
ia<;companied  by  the  ordinary  segments  of  light  or 
cloud,  passing  through  or  neax  the  zenith  in  a  direc- 
tion which,  according  to  the  mean  of  some  fourteen 
observations,  was  sixteen  degrees  east  of  the  magnetic 
meridian.  These  bands  were  constantly  varying,  not 
by  active  scintillation,  but  by  changes  of  intensity- 
rapid  flashing  augmentation,  sudden  subsidence,  or 
complete  extinction— a  wavy  oscillation,  resemhUng 

wind  action. 
4th.  Bistre-colored  clouds,  assuming  a  segmentary 
.  or  arch-like  form,  and  throwing  out  rayp  of  white 
^ght;  these jstreaming  toward  the^zenith,  opdso"'^ 


.:.  k 


£fj9 


-  'J 


AURORAS. 


315 


•lirection  of  the  sun  then  2^'  "^V  °"«^««  '»  «"» 
,     below  the  horizo"  anlin  „  """  *»"  «ight  degfees 

«ed,  might  he  Jooked  uZ^l^iT"^^^  ""*  "^'^ 
.     those  dependent  rays,  nor^g^tdWl"™'  "' 

with  their  deVait«reSTh„?„Tl*«'P'«»g»'™ck 
Lie^t.  Hood,  L  tCprnXiP    *?*"'"«  <''««'>'«1  by 

iti  sometimes  four  or  five^n„™^     r""""*"*  'rith 

trio  series,  .nd  -^^^^ZX^^T^C'^' 
upon  reaching  the  7«niH.  t        '"  *'titnde:  these, 

«t«,ams.  nev^f  It^sinreth^r"  l"T'  "*««"'« 
with  a  rapid  toteri*  motC ^i"  f:;,,'"!  '*"'«*«»8 
pkys;        '  '°°' °™  with  ohromatio  dis. 

l»intTt.!e  rris^W  '"'^T'^  *«»^«'re«  ^m 
toward  the  opSrru»rf  °  *""  '«"*^  "P''  ^o't- 
«o»the.st,and»Cdi^^"'  "'■,'»?**»»  ftom  the 

tkeyareaU  UkeS.  wSl'f'  "■«  "<""'-<'«'' 
i««  "merry  dancers  »»d^*^'^n^5  "'"""".flxl.- 


^^Jl^$4^v 


<M 


Xe^ 


,316 


THE     AURORA. 


> 


\ 


In  the  auroras  seen  by  the  AmericamExpedition,  a 
distinct  scintillation  Mvras  rare ;  and  I  observed  a  Wis. 
matic  tinting  in  only  a  single  instance.  \  The  moye- 
ments  of  the  aiiroral  bq>nds  were  so  wave-like  that 
'  they  were  at  once  suggestive  of  wind-action,  althou^ 
no  correnpoiidence  was  noted  between  them  and  thd^. 
direction  of  the  lower  atmospheric  currents.  \  This  ef. 
feet,  which  I  had  repeated  occasion  to  observe\  height- 
ened  the  resemblance  of  our  Arctic  aurora  to  lUumin- 
ated  cirro-stratus,  arid,  I  confess,  always  impressed  me 
with  its  w^^nt  of  altitude.  V 

Let  me  condense  from  my  JountaLand  Meteorolog- 
ical Record  a  description  of  the  aurpra,  as  we  some- 
times saw  it.  *  \ 

The  2d  of  February  came  to  us  with  sunshine,  the 
at|mosphere  in  yellow  light,  and  full  of  minute  sp^ca* 
la^;  our  thermometers  at  32°,  my , spirit  8tandard\at 
34^,  and  Green's  mercurial  at  38°.  Drawing  the  fiii^ 
ger  through  the  mercury  of  bur  artificial  horizon  gave 
the  sensation  of  scalding  water.  The  evaporation  and 
increased  dryness  were  very  perceptible:  a  brass  cli- 
nometer, which  was  coated  with  hofdr-frost,  became 
perfectly  clean  on  exposure  to  the  s^lar  ray.  The 
haze  disappeared  from  the  southern  horizon,  and  the 
sky  became  strikingly  clear.  As  late  as  half  past  eight 
A.M.,  I  saw  the  North  Star  in  the  zenith,  the  tail  of 
the  Bear,  and  stars  of  the  third  and  fourth  magnitude. 
By  nine  every  one  had  gone,  leaving  Arcturus  ^nd 
Capella  in  possession  of  the  field. 

Between  the  hours  of  six  and  eight  P.M.,  we  had 
an  interesting  display  of  the  aurora.  It  was  of  a  lu- 
minous white,  not  much  more  marked  than  any  of 
the  isolated  nebulse  seen  through  a  telescope,  which 

^--k9    XUUVM7U    XVMrtUxihCU*       j-JliUO     WUlllQ    ««MUV   OMtJIidivu 


•^^ 


7-  ^^^ 


THE    AUEOBA. 


317 


otunulated  masses  fmm  f>,«      _li 

«4tem  horizon,  t^Zt'Z     :^  *°  *"  «-»*''• 

»me  regularity    F?om  ^«         '*'"'"*  »°  ^'"'^  »f 

^e,  a*  apparent  ^H  IT'^^' T'*'^'^^ P"-- 
horizon,  and  oonstenUy  sSZ  L  *  '^  ™*  ^^  *'•" 
topnxiuoe  an  effect  nejl^ iSat  „Ti^;*'»''».  -  >« 
<Km."  To  the  south,  howZt  th  °'^*«  ""°«nTdan. 
ular  and  ohihgin,,  ifaT  1  "*  l>«<»me.«reg- 
ti^-d-fere^,  U^f  U^l^:^"  ;-«»  f««.  five,  £ 

»rie8  of  paraJlel  bands^ron!  J^  ""^  ^  *'"'»" 

degrees.  "''''»'"'«  e^oeed-ng  six  or  eigi,* 

twelve  degrrSvetK!:^-  "^"^"'J^  ^""^  "bout 

K  ^hose^h^::  ^uzz^^T'rt  '"'■ 
•s  :fTora:t-  sr  •^"'  ''-TteltT 

*.  northweri     ft  fa^'"^«  V?  "  "^"^  ""h  to 
jLdisappe„ed     itfttr^^^^^^      '^''  ""y  "''•  ^O"^ 

Cice.      .  *'*''^'"»*«"  deteoted  any  dk. 

fire  of^eTt^nr""'  '""'"  *'''  "•""-fH^io 
wible  with  w     tZT'     V-  "  '  ™diinentaryfonn 


«u  segment,  takmg  graduaUy  an  arc 


-.i^&m 


^*iL  '"^. 


'•^imtwjM^v^ 


< 


-'r-^. 


318 


THE    AURORA. 


/ 


ttke  foim.  The  visible  portion  of  this  arc  soon  be- 
come^ surrounded  with  a  pay^ight,  followed  by  the 
formtition  of  other  concentric  arcs:  next  conie  jets  and 
colored  rays  from  the  dark  part  of  the  segment,  break- 
ing  up  #8  continuity,  and  indicating  a  general  move- 
ment  throughout  its  mass — "internal  shocks,"  as Lard- 
ner  calls  them— which  issue  from  it  as  flames  from  a 
conflagration. 

Lottih's  observations  at  Bossekop,  in  Finland,  lati. 
'tude  70°,  which  embrace  no  less  than  a  hundred  and 
forty-five  exhibitions,  begin  with  a  "  tinting  of  the 
constantly  prevailing  sea-fog,"  the  upper  border  of 
which  was  fringed  with  auroral  light. 
A^  If  these,  and  the  more  familiar  accounts  of  the  au- 

rora in  the  middle  United  States,  be  taken  as  good 
types  of  this  phenomenon,  I  would  say  that  the  ma- 
tured Arctic  aurora  resembled  their  incipient  stages; 
but  that  the  same  law  of  correspondence,  which  marks 
the  centre  of  the  segment  in  or  about  the  toagn^tic 
axis,  gave  to  us,  situated  as  we  were  in  the  immediatiB 
proximity  of  the  magnetic  pole  of  our  earth,  the  strange 
spectacle  of  a  complete  arch  passing"  through  or  near 
the  zenith,  and  embracing  an  amplitude  of  nearly 
one  hundred  and  eighty  degrees.  The  zone  ojr  band- 
like character  df  this  auroral  arch  was  its  pervading 
characteristic.  It  seldom  exceeded  thirty,  and  was 
generally  within  ten  degrees  in  width,  a  floating,  wav- 
ing band  of  nebulous  illumination. 

The  likeness  between  some  of  the  auroral  appear- 
ances and  a  lower  range  of  meteorological  phenomena 
has  been  repeatedly  noticed.  The  bandes  polaires  of 
Humboldt,  the  plaques  aurorales  of  Lottin,  the  cino- 
otf^ilated  resemblances  of  Hood  and  Richardson,  are 


pSG  , 


i.-.s-rmmtaf'iwimjiv: 


atfS^i^KfBBlfflMuyfe^i 


^l^ 

•^ 


»AJf    AUr\ra. 


H9 


jelf  to  the  appax^t  windrmovXents  of  our  exllibi 
tions  m  Lancaster  Sound.        '       \         ^      exflibi- 

I  have  quoted  tke  "fog  or  cloui^ke  l^ffm.^nt- 
descriptions,  for  the  purpose  of  ihtroduciim  fro  J  mv 

the  diff^eted ...  ,:;;r  ^etr  S7a;5r;i:f 

rom.    I  giT,  them  verbatim  from  my  notes    T 

4«1  f;" It  380  "tr"  "'r  ^  *e':m.m:ter,  it  8h. 
4um.  A,jyj.,  at  38°,  while  on  the  vessol'a  Bf^^« .      j    x 

«o    ^.freely  sus^nded  b/th?^ ■;t™C  „y 

AJU.,  but  his  rays  were  subdued  by  a  sUght  hazi 
Th  T^^^  T'''^'  "f  crystallized  spSkst^; 

m^aSLTir'^T,  '''"^'  -hen  exLil^^d  by 
.^it^eto?  Frauenhofer  at  two  hundred  diameters^ 

^5f.SnXr;tKut^sx^5:^ 

At  wt"  Z*°whfl'''^"'*r*  ■"  "^'^  phenomenon. 

^ritarup^T^r/its 

taan  approximate  li*»iVi,f  «ri«o    ^^^  «*i'' ^^"s  ajgjt 


♦» .         o  """* """  upper  summit  miits  disk- 

=«»«Hipp««.mat6l.eight  of  ISO.''  Th&expa^*,f^ 


■^^  '• 


!>,, ' 


"^s;'' 


« 


m 


^ 


4-^-» 


^■^liii^t.    ^    -"^ 


W'^1*^  '?T""^'  '"'■^  ■  '^  "^^ 


■'1  ■ 


320 


DAT    AURORA. 


fashion,  as  it  rose,  and  was  lost  by  its  penciled  radia. 
tions  blending  with  the  illuminated  sky.'  Thus  far  it 
did  not  differ  materially  from  the  vertical  or  crepuscu- 
lar rays  accompanying  rudimentary  forms  of  parhelia. 
But  by  eleven  o'clock  this  fan:like  column  had  en- 
larged  to  a  oloudjif^sfafifk  of  bright  yellow  light,  t\fren- 
ty  to  twenty-four;  degrees  in  height,  and  proceedmg 
from  a  complete  segment  of  illumination,  which  was 
thickly  studded  mth  cirrous  clouds.  The  upper  ter- 
minus of  this  coHmin,  unlike  the  parhelia  which  we 
had  seen  before,  assumed  a  curvilinear  wedge  shape 
not  unlike  the  section  of  a  pear,  from  whose  sides  rose 
tangentially  a  series  of  penciled  iUuminations  termin- 
ating in  streaks  of  cloud  strata. 

"The  feature  about  this  phenomenon  of  grib&test  in- 
terest was  a  distinct  play  of  light,  a  series  of  coruscat- 
ing changes  resembling  the  scintillations  of  the  auro- 
ra. -The  rays  wQich  shot  out  from  the  three-curved 
summit  sometime^  extended  twelve  or  fifteen  degrees, 
with  a  sudden  movement  of  increased  energy  almost 
resembling  ignition  i  then  again  they  retired,  until  rep- 
resented by  but  a  few  feeble  points.  The  cloud-like 
segment  showed  in  %  lesser  degree  the  same  mover 
ments ;  and  at  the  pei^d&  of  most  active  display,  the 
vertical  or  fan-like  shafV  flashed  up  into  more  intense 
illumination.  The  diameter  of  this  shaft  at  its  en- 
tering base  could  not  have^been  less  than  eighty  de> 
grees."  .  \ 

This  singular  exhibition  recalled  irresistibly  the  an- 
alogous phenomena  of  the  aurora,  ^th,  those  anomal- 
ous displays  of  coronae  which  have  been  referred  to 
the  diffraction  of  light  by  atmospheric  vesicles  or  icy 
spiculse.  I  give  it  from  my  notes,  as  a  simple  detail 
of  foots,  withoatemmwfflt^  or  opinion* — 


.,-.sr.S**^M -""■"': 


DAY    AURORA. 


321 


enough  to  be  worth  trISn"   °'*°""""'""«''8 
"About  ten  o'clock  ani^^      1  ^ 

i».i.  I  noticed  th::°:h;rfizs:hrrrther'- 

zon  had  nearly  clearfiH  n«r„      '""^•''*^«  o*  the  hon. 

*wofe.the^ei^i:r/arur.^l-:5,,o-^^ 

spot  where  the  banking  remah^  Z^'  l"^'^^  »°» 
.ri(.  nearness  to  th"f  ZZd 'iL^t^^jf '^■'«- 
,  mentary character;  Ito margin  WMdMn  «  .  ''^• 
ularly  arched ;  it,  tinting  fpe^u^"'''"^'''  7'';!p 
warmed  or  bron^d  at  its  marS  b^S  '  '^^^^^^ 
»  heavy  brown  at  the  Ve  o^rLrfzir'^r^  T 
of  the  segment  bore  south  tw.nf^T^  °*  **"*'» 

-tic),  its  altitude  eiXfe^sltdr  rV""*" 
vapor. from. ship-s  iirl,  pur^S  \,^°^' n** 

not  ^-oleariy  Visible;  a'tmospht'^r-lSt 


radiHff  nearTv  tnih     "  r^^^^"'^g  m  intensity,  eji^ 
ing  nearly  to  the  eastern  quarter  of  the  sky     By 


?**^' '  *-' 


■^-.-■k*fi^,v^,*»r4^f,^;5(^!3*9-.. 


='i«9»«pnit»»W!p**WI!l!wr*i». 


^, 


W7..£! 


322 


DAY     AURORA. 


V 


coalescing  at  their  bases,  these  radiating  processes  aug- 
mented the  size  of  the  central  segment.  The  inter- 
vals between  them  appeared,  by  contrast,  to  be  artifi- 
cially illuminated. 

"  Till  now  there  had  been  no  movement ;  but  at 
1  Ih.  20m.  these  cloud-like  processes  or  radiations  strik- 
ingly resembled  the  rays  or  beams  of  a  coruscating 
auroi^al  arch.  Dr.  Vreeland  and  myself  witnessed  re- 
peatedly interruptions  of  their  continuity ;  then  sud- 
den shootings  out,  or  inoreasings  of  their  length ;  and 
then  a  rapid  4nd  momentary  formation,  followed  by  a 
sudden  and  complete  disappearance. 

"At  this  time,  too,  a  strange  wavy  movement  was 
seien  about  the  shorter  prolongations  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  vertex  of  the  mass.  These  resembled  the 
rising  wreaths  of  '  fro8t^-smoke'  seen  in  Wellington 
Channel,  and  had  an  appearance  almost  of  combus- 
tion.        . " 

''During  all  these  phases,  the  cloud-like  character 
was  singularly  preserved :  the  rays  appeared  to  modi- 
fy the  processes,  as  light  would  behind  our  ordinary 
clouds.  The  whole  exhibition  was  a  daylight  one, 
perfectly  cloud-like,  differing  only  in  the  elements  of 
shape,  movement,  and  radiated  illuminati<mr  It  was 
a  day  aurora. 

The  appearance  cojitinued  until  twenty  minutes  of 
meridian.  At  llh.  10ai.,wh6n  it  was  at  its  maxi- 
mum, the  rayed  prolongations  stretched  nearly  across 
the  sky  p  and  the  centre  of  the  mass  from  which  they 
emanated  waa  fUteen  degrees  west  from  the  south 
pole  of  the  needle.  At  about  the  same  deviation,  viz., 
N.  by  E.  i  E.,  and  at  ^.rude  altitude  of  about  fifteen 
or  twenty  degrees,  was  an  irregular  cirro-cumulated 
clottd-of  thfriWkHiepttrph>4iiiti  but  not nwHaauoh  ilia- 


.5^, 


"!^' 


/r    ^If' 


DAY    AURORA. 


ininated. 
were  seen 
far  as  due 
"Before 

the  proloilj 

detaohe 

nith 

The  m 

also,  had 

rizon.' 


323 


stratu*  to  the  south  (mamfetici; 
'v.th  the  usual  bonk  abiutf:!^ 


J,     \ 


^ 


./I 


•   ■      y  7  ;.  '  .//     ;     - 


"t^NiJ^  ■  -t;-^  ••  ■*t>  ■  't^-'TV  *  -' 


THI  BESCVE  IN  HEB  ICE-DOCK. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 


Our  brig  was  still  resting  on  her  cradle,  and  her 
consort  on  the  floe  a  short  distance  ofl",  when  the  first 
month  of  spring  came  to  greet  us.  We  had  passed 
the  latitude  of  72°. 

To  prepare  for  our  closing  struggle  with  the  ice- 
fields,  or  at  least  divide  its  hazards,  it  was  determined 
to  refit  the  Rescue.     To  get  at  her  hull,  a  pit  was 
sunk  in  the  ice  around  Itbr,  large  enough  for  four  mf  n 
'to  work  in  at  a  time,  and  fight  feej;  deep,  so  as  to  ex- 
^  po«B  her  stem,  and  leavq  only  eighteen  inches  of  fhe 
_keel  imbedded.     This  novel  dry-dock  answered  per- 
Tectly.     The  }mU.  was  inspected,  and  the  work  of  re- 
pair was  pressed  so  assiduously,  that  in  three  days  the 
stern-post  was  in  its  place,  epd  the  new  bowsprit  ready 
for  shipping.     We  had  now  the  chances  of  two  ships 
again  in  case  of  disaster. 

,  Since  the  middle  of  February  the  felt  housing  of  our 
vessel  had  shown  a  disposition  to  throw  o£f  its  snowy 
crust.     There  was  anfji  apparent 're/!bssion,  or,  rather, 

fwant  of  adhesion  about  it,  tha|;  spoke  of  change,  ^ut 
if.  Tltrnq  nnf.  fill   •fVin   TtVt  nf  ATni-fiX   fVinf  -vtrn  —.■?<•" /^^-c"'!   on 


m 


tsW.' 


^^-■•■• 


TREATMENT    OF    SCURVY. 

»d fell. leavi„/alSr:'«^'«#2^''"..*°  '"'"™' 
orated  or  frozen  imtantlyX  L Ttl^tM™"- 
unequivocal  moistnm      i    ,\  *^ ''°™  "»"«. 

vessel,  kept  iSef  tomeet.  ^'''  *~'  '^»"e^'''«  *''-' 
felt  «.verfg^ronl  aoitC^r''^*  '"''*^'^ 
rion  to  the  unmi?t^ned T!r  t  '  ^°""  ™P'«»- 
water  roUed  ^Tl^^  „7  nTlT  1 
m  minute  icicles.  '  *°*^  ft>fmed 

ca^a  ^^ltr,Ur  •"'  "'»™"^  -"»*'• 
I  ascribed  it  in  a^IS  to  t"SI  f""^^  "^  "" "y- 
kraut  «fld  lime.j,ice  ^TL  t-  *"*"''  ''"• 
which  was  enfor"d  M  Zrt  !J„  '  ""u"*""*  ^""''^^ 
But  I  attribu  J?t  ate  rth!       T*^  '*'^'P""»- 

chioricacid,appu:*d:;:^LT;^7frSra"n?t'r- 

.e  fro.  it,  eLtn  — »  Z7orZ.1^ 

myselt  to  claim  a  sequence  as  a  reanlf  •  K„*  7 

^g  to^the  ««=ept»d  dialecti"  of  I  pioSr  tt 

iff  f7y-  ''^•"-  -ay  be  reco  Jend^T'C! 
hrbr  adapted  to  certain  Btage*  of  «»rbut«,.  * 

mltaCthlf/"'*^*'"'  '™'^'""'  •""  «»«»'»»te,ed 


■  ■'»( 


J *     ""^^J^  wtsre  woicroua  enough. 

^"B.  Stewart,  with  purpuric  blotche,  Sa  stiff 


326 


-  TREATMENT    OF    SCURVY. 


'  knee,  had  to  wag  l^is  leg  half  an  hour  hy  the  dial,  op. 

posite  a  formidable  magnet,  each  wag  accompanied 
by  a  shampooing  knead.  Stewart  had  faith ;  the  mus- 
cular action,  which  I  had  enjoined  so  often  ineffectu- 
ally,  was  brought  about  by  a  bit  of  steel  and  a  smear 
ing  of  red  sealing-wax.    They  cured  him. 

Another,  remarkable  for  a  dirty  person,  of  well 
used-up  capillary  surface,  a  hard  case — one  of  a  class 
scarcely  ever  seen  by  any  but  navy  doctors — sponged 
freely  and  regularly  from  head  to  foot  in  water  col- 
ored  brown  by  coffee,  and  made  acid  with,  vinegar. 
His  gums  improved  at  once.  He  would  never  have 
washed  with  aqua  fontana. 

Another  set  of  fellows  adhered  pertinaciously  to 
their  salt  junk  and  hard  tack,  ship  bread  and  beef. 
These  conservative  gentlemen  gave  me  much  trouble 
by  repelling  vegetable  food.  The  scurvy  wq^  playing 
the  very  deuce  with  them,  when  the  bright  idea  oc- 
curred to  me  of  converting  the  rejected  delicacies  into 
an  abominable  doctor-stuff.  It  was  an  appeal  to  their 
spirit  of  martyrdom :  they  became  heroes.  Three 
times  a  day  did  these  high-spirited  fellows  drink  a 
^  wine  glass  of  olive-oil  and  lime-juice,  followed  by  %(r 
H  potato  and  saur-kraut,  pounded  with  molasses  into  a 

~  damnable  electuary.    They  ate  nobly,  and  got  well. 

But  the  causes  of  scurvy  were  relaxing  their  ener- 
gies only  for  the  time.  Before  the  month  was  out, 
the  disease  had  come  back  with  renewed  and  even 
exacerbated  virulence.  Some  of  its  phases  were  cu- 
ijous.  The  joint  of  Captain  De  Haven's  second  finger 
became  the  seat  of  severe  p^,  accompanied  by  a  dis- 
tinct tubercle  cartilaginous  to  the  touch.  It  exactly 
recalled,  he  said,  the  appearance  and  feeling  of  the 
part  for ^ome  months  afler  it  had  been  biirtJjLJ^ 


tjtl 


METEORS. 


327 


.pit  f«..n  the  cavity  .ZIX^^TZ.  TZT"' 
chance  o^examinins  it  hv  ti,.     .  "S*'  ^  '"'J  no 
■   impression  ofthec^tv  in  LJ"'"?"°P''''""  «" 
fetly  smooth,  aid  X  v-*I    f  *'"'  '''"'^  J^'" 

essiiication.  iCveZlT^,  '"T""'*''  ''>' ''"««  ^ 
in  the  ^oin:  itta^te^^heS^slHhr  "'"'' 
but  iWi4w  threatened  sunDurJL  ^®  ^^^^''^^ 

.»™  the  ma,^  of  theV^^^S"  r"  ^"''^^  '' 

nant  of  drie/peaohesa:rsoJrii.l*ith  t  T 
and  hrown  «„gar,  formed  the  fernTnt  "'  Zt     ThI 

Jrii"hSi,rfhr4frThrT^r™ 

few  pages  back  but  q»L  Jell  ^^keT  tT'"?  ," 
lowed  at  ,mght  t,y  the  p»ra«ler^  An„*K  ?  '^'• 
pherio  disDiav  wkLk      r»'»«"™e-    Another  atmos- 

*«Z t:^  riSt  """"^  "  ^'^  "T  '^'-ard, 

thLome^rt;^*^4:'.'--*^";P<'™J"-.    ^he 
tlie  wind  wa«  very  lieht     Y„t  tl  *'  ""°"'  ""<• 

•^%ahon.itZSe™«r  artier  "  ™*'"^ 
tion  as  if  evannr««««  •  tmgle— a  sensa- 

quite  a  pJX  1  T.  f"^-"'^  ""'^^^  *^«  '^^- 

pnerp  WHS  atuddeU  mih  glretefilflrparticles.    f    " 


« 


328 


METEORS. 


have  never  seen  them  so  manifest  and  so  numerous. 
Our  slide,  a  polished  surface  of  clear  ice,  bejsame 
clouded  in  a  few  minutes,  and  before  five  o'clock  it 
*was  perfectly  white.    The  microscope  gave  me  the 
same  broken  hexagonal  prisms,  mixed  with  tables 
closely  resembling  the  snow-crystal.     A  haze  sur- 
/  rounded  the  horizon,  rising  for  some  six  degrees  in  a 
bronzed',  purple  bank;  after  which  it  gradually  blend- 
ed with  the  sky,  a  clear  blue,  undisturbed  by  cirri. 
"Accompanying  this  redundancy  of  atmospheriq 
^'  spiculae   was  a  parhelion  of  remarkable  intensity. 
There  was  no  halo  round  the  pun,  and  no  vertical 
*    or  horizontal  column;  but  at  the  distance  of  22°  04^ 
from  the  sun's  centre  were  three  solar  images,  one  on 
each  side,  and  the  other  immediately  above  the  sun. 
This  latter  image  was  intensely  luminous,  but  not 
prismatic;  the  others  had  the  rudiments  of  an  arc, 
highly  colored,  the  red  upon  the  inner  margin.    The 
haze  rose  as  high  as  these  horizontal  images ;  and  the 
arc,  which  in  so  short  a  segment  presented  no  visible 
curvature,  expanded  as  it  descended,  so  as  to  form  an 
elongated  pyramid  or  column,  the  prismatic  tints  in- 
creasing in  intensity  as  they  approached  the  horizon. 
The  efiect  of  this  was  that  of  two  illuminated  beacons 
or  rainbow  towers,  the  sun  blazing  between  thent 
As  we  stood  a  little  way  off  on  the  ice,  it  was  very 
beautiful  to  see  the  brig,  with  its  spars  and  rigging 
cutting  like  tracery  against  the  central  light,  with 
these  prismatic  structures  on  each  side,  capped  by  a 
spectral  sun." 
Two  evenings  later,  the  parhelia  ^ve  us  another 
.  spectacle  of  interest.    Two  mock  suns,  which  had  ac- 
companied the  sun  below  the  horizon,  sent  up  an  il- 
Inminated  and  colored  arc  some  eight  or  ten  degrees 


f  *« 


,  .jiii^ri 


APOLOGY. 


329 


in  height.    Midway  rose  a  brush.llkepolnrrtn    f    • 
son  (barvta)  liaht      A  «.  r^^'^'l^^^  column  of crim- 

brightness.    The  wZoTe  l^^l^  ''"'■nuhon  of  iu 

tinWasintheeveiltStXB:^"""'^' 

Indeed,  from  the  beginning  of  the  month  the  skies 

,  had  undergone  a  sensible  change  of  as3  T  *    j 

I  am  tempted  to  apologize,  once  for  all,  f^Thf  2 
perfect  character  of  these  observations.  Our  stek  rf 
mstruments  on  board  w««  scanty  at  the  b^t  Md  thi 
routme  observances  of  a  ship  of  war  do  nTf        .? 

pmsecution.ofmerelyscienll'/rZrlw    wTh^J    ' 
no  actmometer  to  mark  the  daily  increment,!!/,  i 
n«iiation:  our  thermometers  ~3Sy  5    7 
construct«,,and  were  not  so  pSc^^toy^'t 
h«h*t  vlfte  to  their  results;  «„d  „„  ent^  ^Moh  I 

oMs:ersir*'*r-''^»^^™-«e^t» 

"itarch  12>  To.^,  for  the  fiqfcjimft  during  th.^- 
cruise,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeinMr  luj^  ^ 
rometor  released  from  its^stoWaT^d  .!    «    ^W 
^ade  to  compare  it  with  our  aSs^iefore'^^^iS'  ^ 
«an  our  drift  to  the  north,  when  we  had  no  &-™W^ 

IrdTthTr*'^  f f""^  te»I.e«t„re,ld  Z 
ZlVfi'r  ^r°L'"1"°L°°"^J>to  the  over. 


-mmdedcabinofopr^grto^^tf^lg 


/ 


^ 


^ 


h  X- 


0 


'^ 


M', 


:HE 


.1- 


^ 


o%gistra%)tj^ith  %  owr#t,might  hav^^J^^n  well 
to:m%e  a  c|^te  compfJison  of  the  two  witKth<>seof 


thti^tish  vi^Ps,  and  with  pfXtg  mountain  l^qtolhietet 


v« 


Jhe  ih^i 
pfpint  0a\d  havfe  "be 
others  that  weije  ju#f*i'^;G 
have  lifeen  practioablei^ba-piC 


EiS  infetj- 


«n  «s  zero 

1^%ence  to 

ail  ;|t  would 

:ve  eoinetnirig  of  in- 


■■\  v.^f  ■• 


•  V, 


ged  Value  to  our  log-book  records  of  the  atmospher- 
^rfiiio  pressure,  ^  Under  alLth*  circumstanxjes,  \  have  not 
' '  ^thought  it  nepessary  tb%insfer  them  to  my  journal.'' 
'is'y  As  the  middle  of  Mais^h  approached,  our  drift  be- 
came  gradually  slower,  ittj|il  we  almost  reached  a  state 
of  rest.  For  several  day^ke  advanced  at  an  average 
rate  of  scarcely  half  a  mile  a  day.  We  were  at  this 
time  some  seventy  miles  eaji^  of  Cape  .Adair,  our  near- 
est Greenland  shore  being  somewhere  between  Upper 
>,  Navik  and  Disco; -and  the\idea  of  eTicountering  the 
■•.  final  hreak-up  among  the  closefy-impacted  masses  that 
surrounded  us^  or  of  being  carried  back  to  the  north 
by'spme  inopportune  counter-current,  was  far  from 
pleasant.  But  our  log-line,  in  an  attempt  at  sound- 
ings, showed  still  a  marked  under-draught  toward  the 
south ;  and  in  a  few  days  mote  we  were  moving  south- 
wiard  again  with  increased  velocity. 

The  1 9th  gave  us  a  change  of  scene.  I  was  aroused 
from  my  morning  sleep  by  the  familiar  voice  of  Mr. 
Murdaugh,  as  he  hurried  along  the  half-de^ :  "  Ice 


opening"-T-"  Open  leads, 
"Frost-smoke  all  aroui 
ward,  Henri  nad  bgen  t 
carbine  in  hand^ 
After  a  heavy 
iVwas — the  opeji, 
loruiiug  i 


<|ur  starboard  quarter" — 
Five  Ininutes  after- 
[M  from  the  galley;  and, 
ling  over  4he  hummocks. 
...  a  mile,  sure  enougl^here 
staretohing  with  its  fihn  of 
perapeotire  io  the  fiast. 


-m- 


•'Sh  w^  W  k£*  'nbreak  „po„  complete  ^liditr 
wmcn  we  had  khown  since  the  15th  of  Jannn^     i* 

■,  was  a  breach  iij  onr  prison-walls  Th.jT.  ' 
movement  of  thJ  mercSrvZIth.  ,  ,  !  ""dnlatory 
of  the  clouds  weri  noweZpS  I^t  t'TT' 
—  this  mo4g,  tC^^i/r^Zt  £  t 
ing  on  for  days,  /perhaps  a  week.  Onr  winds  W  t. 
vored  the  separation  of  cracks  intoJwide  cZmefs    w 

r  ™'*  "'^'^'^  ""t ''''™ «» p?-  « 

Jt  'eT«hTfeet°™  h'^  "^  meifnrements,  was  fh.m' 

commotions,  I  can  hardly  realize'that  sucTextenTi™ 
*asms  should  have  been  formed  almost  in  suZ 

hundred  miles  acrots,  !:fZ  fi  fdTayT^  t^ 
^««s  onrin  the  other  direction.  Perhlps  thrwave 
•ction  of  a  heavy  sea,  great  s«b.glacial  billows  urfrf! 

at  our  fast^mented  little  vessel,LyhaTbrken  [he 

Tber*^""'?'"'  r"*  ""''  """"It  of  a  c^lion 
of  »r  W  "^"  ^  ?"''«""""«'  »■  *»  «•«  -theast 

cleata-^gedfraotur^diSersified  by  driftand  humm^k 
o7f"Mf  "^"^  *'"'«*«"««ag level, lite  thTba^,' 
rfat,daess  „ver,  margined  by -new  ice  and  craC 

„     ■        ^  rP-  ""'^'  """r  vj,ry  T,la«k,-gave  eviT" 


/  '«^-:;.^ 


..M^ 


'.-?'«■ 


l'^--  .„,; 


^ 


"X 


, -u. 


^ 


K 


■j 


332 


THE    LEAD. 


dence  of  open  water.  In  this,  surrounded  by  exhal- 
ing  mist  and  frost-smoke,  were  our  old  friends,  the  seal ; 
grave,  hirsute-looking  fellows,  who  rose  out  of  the  wa- 
ter  breast-high,  and  gazed  upon  us  with  the  curious 
faces  of  bid  times.  Near  them  was  a  solitary  dovekie, 
dressed  in  its  gray  winter  plumage,  tl^e  first  bird  I  had 
seen  for  days ;  here,  too,  had  crossed  the  tracks  of  a 

bear. 

All  this  was  very  cheering.     To  see  something,  no 

.  matter  what,  checkering  the  waste  of  white  snow,  waa 
like  a  shady  groYe  to  men  sun-tired  in  a  prairie ;  but 
to  see  life  again— life,  tenanting  the  desolate  air  and 
inhospitable  sea — was  a  spring  of  water  in  the  desert. 
My  old  hostility  to  gun-murder  was  forgotten.  I  wast- 
ed, of  course,  some  small  remnant  of  poetic  sympathy 
with  fellow-life  thus  springing  up  out  6f*the  wilder- 
ness ;  but  then,  in  the  midst  of  my  sympathies,  came 
the  destructive  instii^ct  which  longed  to  make  it  sub- 
servient to  my  wants.  TJl^  scurvy,  the  scurvy  pa- 
tients, myself  among  the  rest ! — but  the  seal  and  tEe 
dovekies  kept  themselves  out  of  shot. 

At  this  lead  we  saw  the  rec6nt  frost-smoke  within  a 
few  yards  of  us  in  pointed  tongues  of  vapor:  further 
off,  the  long,  wreathy  broWn  clouds  were  rising.  I 
never  before,  not  eVe'n  in  "^kVellington  Channel,  saw 
this  phenomenon  in  greater  perfection :  in  Wellington 
it  was  an  interesting,  sometimes  a  gloomy  feature; 
here  it  was  imposing.  As  far  back  as  the  twelfth,  we 
had  caught  glimpses  of  brown  vapor  in  this  very.-|ir 

-jffiction :  we  now  lea^ipied  td  look  upon  it  in  certain 
phases  as  an  unerring  indication  of  open  water,  and 
wondered  that  we  did  not  so  regard  it  earlier.;^ 
The  chasms  were  not  limited  to  the  long  lead  be- 

^^fa:e  tts.     They  extended  to  the 


•-,17.  "i.  1. 


/ 


FR0ST-8M0KE. 


) 


833 


+ 10°     UnZ  ft.  ''"^^'*''*^y'  ^«^suig  the  mercury  to 

As  I  stood  upon  a  tall  knob  of  hummock  th«  .„ 
toe  horizon  seemed  to  be  sending  up  eZw  «  K 
ine  smoke—not  the  Iflrr,h««+         i  '  ®*^*"nff  a  bronz- 
^j-ruoi,  me  lambent,  smoky  wreaths  wfiinh  t 

mey  rose,  like  the  discharges  of  artUlery  over  waW 
or  a  locomotive  steaming  over  a  cold,  wet  IX' 
They  were  wafted  by  the  wind,  so  as  to  driVelhem 
out  in  hnes  two  or  three  hundred  yards  long  but  th- 
dung  tenaciously  to  the  water  »d  young  /ce^il^^ 
»»  a  varying  but  always  narrow  hLof  TtS 

t^??«-srs^:?;^ 

Sin7etdsro?o7r:tsrr -"'•--- 


V. 


r 


^'1 


2jJ^M^ 


l^. 


^ 


1 


'•^' 


ilf 


chapt|:r  xxxvn. 


"March  20.  Thursday,  the  24)j^  of  March,  opens 
T(Kitri?f,|i  gale,  a  regular  gal^.  On  reaching  deck  after 
breakftist,  I  found  the  wind  from  the  southeast,  the 
jll^ermoineter  at  lero,  and  ridng.  These  southeast 
storms  are  looked' upon  as Jiaring  an  important  influ- 
ence on  the  ice.  Thefy  are  always  warm,  and  by  the , 
sea  whicife^hey'  e^mQ  at  i^e  southern  margin  of  the 
paclj;,  have  Vgwiat  effect  ^iisbrejlkiiig  the  floes.  Mr. 
Olrik.tol^jpr^^iiat  tiey  were^^^xiously  looked  for  on 
thejOijienland  cpast  as  precursors  of  open  water.  The 
dal^PthA  southeast  ^ale  last  year,  at  Uppernavik, 
waiMlpril  l5th.  Oiir  thermometer  gave  +5°  at  noon- 
day, '+7°  at  one,  and  +8°  at  three  o'clock!! 

**  This  is  the  heaviest  storm  we  have  had  since  en- 
tering Lancaster  Sound,  exactly  seven  months  and  a 
day  ago.  The  snow  is  whirled  in  such  quantities, 
that  our  thick  felt  housing  seems  as  if  of  gauze:  it 


..^5'i. 


\ 


A    TRAMP. 


33C 


not  only  covers  our  decks  )..,*  j  • 
like  fine  dust  or  flour  A.ttJ'ir  "'*°  ™  "'»"'«» 
visible  fourteen  feet  iro,n  ih  "'^"">™«'w  was  in. 
often  paces  off  „rouTou^r^  t""  """  ""'""""o 
««  every  tUng,  theTZ.       '  *7''"«  "P""/  *>«'• 

This  lieavy  mow-dr  ft  ^r.! T'      """"P'PteJf  liidden. 
oonc«ved^lC„hAlvT     T'^'^^S^^be^  1  had 
.    had  dispo^rsed  wSfewSlt ^"'''  f"'"''^ 
d.8comforts.    As  ta  facing  tt !  ,f  r     "  '"'''  ""<' 
nothing  human  could-  f„f  "         stationary  position, 
ten  minutes.    Ev^  t  ^Lu—  ''°"''' "«  •>»"»''  *» 
^we  tumble  up  to  :„^"„ Sir ""'\''"""''''»' 
.^utes  before  the  very'S'^ fcrT'^Xh:""' 

to  tal ';^ain  o?  ,:'Sl/>tS^^,,0"'^^»^^^ 
uries  of  Lancaster  Sound     F^^'  "*''*'  '''^• 

fer  better  this  with  the  «„i     .    ^  °™  I^'  '«"er, 
~  the  corroding  ri?enS?^''"^"^''''"''^'*''an 

pa^t  two  mof  h?  E™"/ Itff  ^""^'  "^  *« 
peetation.  '"^'^  moment  now  is  full  of  ei. 

"^"rch  21.  The  wind  changed  th#S»_„-       . 
tto  westUd,  and  by  daylight  w^  bSl^^,^ 
After  breakfast,  Murdaugh  andZse^^?'"^'''- 
tramp  to  the  'op«n  water'  I,  .      .1     T*''  »"  " 
8»'e.    The  dn&tJl     '  ^  ^  *■""  effects  of  the 

company.    The  win]  IT"  t'^cZal -t^'''"'? 
have  seen  it  at  -3(A  and  th.  «  "*  ^ 

faees;  but  the  surfXw^.  r  '""''  P*'*""  <"» 

wJked  over  the  crasfe       'Z'"  ''"<'  *'"'*  *« 
hour  we  ^^h^  the  i"'  "  "  """•  ^^  ''-'f  »» 
"«»ntmff  a  signal  pnfo.^fe^^gtfc  a^ndtei^" 


tiliKr'  V 


x"*. 


h     ./  -i' 


336 


THE    OPEN    WATER. 


chief  as  a  mark,  and  taking  cojnpass-bearings  to  guide 
us  back  again,  we  began  to  look  around  us.  Oui 
expectations  of  hummock  action  were  agreeably  dis- 
appointed. We  thought  that  the  storm  would  have 
driven  th§,ice  from  the  southward,  and  that  the 
change  of  fwind  would  have  marshaled  opposing  floes 
to  meet  it.  But  it  was  not  so.  Even  the  young, 
marginal  ice,  though  warped,  was  unbroken.  The 
pressure  had  evidently  taken  place,  but  with  little 
effect.  After  the  gigantic  upheavings  of  Lancaster 
Sound,  excited  by  winds  much  weaker,  no  wonder  I 
was  surprised.  Upon  thinking  it  oter,  I  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  absence  of  a  point  d'appui,  either 

.  of  land  or  land-ice,  was  the  cause  of  these  diminished 
actions.  We  were  now  in  a  great  sea,  surrounded  by 
consolidated  floes,  and  away  from  salient  capes  or 
shore-bound  ice.  The  pressure  was  diffused  through- 
out a  greater  mass,  without  points  of  special  or  even 
unequal  resistance.  If  this  reasoning  hold,  we  will 
not  experience  the  expected  tumult  until  we  drift 
into  a  region  where  forces  are  more  in  opposition; 
perhaps  not  until  we  reach  the  contraction  of  Davis* 
Straits. 

"The  young  ice  margin  of  this  open  lead  had  the 
appearance  of  a  beautiful  wave-flattened  sand  beach. 
The.  lead  itself  had  opened  so  far  that  its  opposite 
shores  were  barely  visible.  The  wind  checked  the 
immediate  formation  of  new  ice;  and,  to  our  inex- 
pressible  joy,  there,  glittering  in  the  cold  sunlight, 
were  little  rippling  waves.  So  long  have  W€>  been 
pent  up  by  this  wretched  circle  of  unchanging  snow, 
that  I  make  myself  ridiculous  by  talking  of  trifles, 
with  which  you,  milk-drinking,  sun-basking,  melted- 

_^iyfttiftr-seeing  people  at  homo  can  have  no  sympathyt. 


.y-  ...'  •, .  -v."-. 


V .,  4<' 


/  '    /      / 

/ 


.^^ 


/  . 


ltCB-V0ICE8. 


3S7 


..heir  tempo^r^*'^  "'"''»  "^  'W  laughed  i, 
h,L.o^k?„f  ;I"tLir°'"7»"-..  S^ll  there  W 

w^aZf^  the  Mjess.    The  puJse-like  interv^ 
5°*  ?"^'fi«'  '^ry  t^ng,  iny  feeUnge  most  of  ^ 

thing  very  like  gratitude  came  over  me,  as  I  tboueht 
ofthe  uncertam  gloom  or  HpaWe  midnight  wUck 
^mpanied  a  fe*  weeks  .go  Z  ■  voiees  rf  ftlfe^ 
Tie  thermometer  was  210  below  zero,  and  the  wtod 

b1  T/th"  "'frr"«'''  ""y  "»»«  h^e  a  t^^^w 
nZ  blew  tte^''  of  my  reverie.    So  I  rubbed  the 

"S«oi  ,£w*i       ^nen  started  off  on  a  tramp. 


of  ih^.  T  Vii  J  „V:r  "^  ii«at.8eeicing  sei^ses.    One 


/■'/ 


^rr  '■  ■ 


•  \-::jt^«^^ 


■•  > 


338 


ICE    COMMOTIONS. 


•«■»• 


1 


that  my  one  ball  could  mt  align  his  mate.  °  This 
was  the  first  ganSe  we  haf  obtained  since  the  fall: 
he  was  divided,  poor  fellow,  between  twp  of  my  scur- 
vy  patients.  In  getting  this  bird  out,  1  came  very 
near  getting  myself  in;  and  that,  wjien  a  ducking 
means  a  freezing,  is  no  fun. "  ^ 

"10  P.M.<  To-night  finds  me  knocked  up.    Be  it 
known,  that  after  crawling  on  my  belly,  not  like  the 
wisest  of  animals,  for  two  hours,  I  came  nearly  with- 
In  shot  of  a  week's  fresh  i«Bat.     The  fresk  meat  edited,  / 
first  shaking  his  whisker  tentacles  at  my  disconsolate 
l^ard,  leaving  me  half  frozen  and  whollf-  disconte^it- 
ed.     Fool-like,  after  the  long  walk  back,  tjie  warm, 
ing,  the  drying,  and  the*  feeding,  1  returned  by  the    ' 
other  long  walk  to  the   ice-openings,  tramped  for   . 
two  hours,  saw  nothing  but  H^t-smoke,  ^gid  carae"^ 
back  again,  dinnerless,  with  legs  quaking,  and  spirits  f^ 
wholly  out  of  tune., . 

-  JiOm  drift  to-day,  at  meridian',  Was  In  the  ner 
borhood  of  9  miles;  our  latitude  was  71°  9'  ^" 

"March  23,  Sunday.  After  divine  service, "sj 
for  the  iqjfeopeningfe.     We  are  now  in  the  cei 
an  area,  .which  Mte  estimatied  roughly  as  four  mr? 
from  north  to  soutil,  and  a  little  more  east  and  west, 
On  reaching  what  was  yesterday's  sea-beach,  I  was 
forced  to  recant  in  a  measure  my  convii^^ions  as  4o 
the  force  of  the  opposing  floes,    ^sterday's  beach 
existed  no  longer;  it  was  swallowed  ^,  crushed, 
.crumbled,  submerged,  or  uplifted  in  long  ridges  of 

broken  ice.    *    ■    /  , '       '  ^     •  ^  ^' '       ''^' 
•  "The  actions  were,  still  in  progi 
truding  upon  the  solid  old  tee  which  is  ourtJidlhe. 
stead.     The  ice-tables  Aow  crumbling  into  hummcfcks 
were  from  eight  to  fojrtejgg  incheg^  thick^  geqerf^Uy  ^ 


)gress,  'and  fast.in-^ 


'.-'• 


t  . 


J'   > 


I- 


BREAK-UP. 


339 


line  of  comi^n     ZZZ  *^'"""  "'""^  ^"'"'^ 

height  of  ten  or  twTC  feT  Th"  ^'\'^'"'*^^  '<-  "^ 

the  upheaving  ice,  and  rode  upon  tL  ftf     T"'''' 
amusement  I  cdftld  hardiv  l,..  V  ™g"ients— an 

I  had  studied  tTe"  S^^™  ^'^'"''^  «"%  before 

.;er;~[^;^rzt  ^^'-"^  -" 

,-  between  tlie  older  ice  monf  .  ?^  P'"*^  ^"e. 
ing  hummoek-line  r„  1™  C  ]f  *"  «"»'-''. 
after  a  walk  of  a  short  K  if     f '     ^P""  "W  «'««. 

,  *ps  obliteraw,  ™d the  t^^o\"r  """•'  °"  '■»'■ 
yards  of  this  older  /'i*'"L™'»''«l'.lme  within  a  few 

1^   •  ''A.^wcraoT4^'re„oST''''''"«'"S"'P'<"y- 

-  ftethird  oja  JhCmZV  **  T  °'""<''''  "»«"* 

,:the  sun  showed  thMS^KflYr  "' 

.    since  enterine  BafRn'..  n      ,  T^'  '"'  ™  fi«t  time 

JWnorthwSd.    H®7w!;^;  "^'l^.  <»''««erably  to 

'  aUon.    So,  as  soon  ^7  '       "  ™"'J<""'  ^<"  "^""in- 

^    Davis  M^dWmZo'^'""''''"'''*^^-^^^ 

a  «lk  to  ihe  opeiil*,  ^I  r'?.  ^""""^'"-  "« 

-  we  found  the  iMTe^e^tt       "C  ""•  ''<='"'  '"*"'. 
black  wate«  in  a  cZrT  t     T^^'  *'*•  «"<*  «»? 

,  the^ast  and  ^t  #    t  h  h    „*  '^°°*  '^''*-^  'unningi^^ 

>tgia«^Tbv«.«  °^"  """^  of  Esquim^ 

■    »t,lnStK' 7"™*"??  of  theseVeat'floes; 

wdlpaM.1^      "^  over  v*Wifed  on.  -UTe  wefe- 


.  v» 


k^ 


'Ik* 


i>, 


'^•' 


4 


fcll!l'-'J:'''jMt'Pn,  trart^yerae  to  Jha  toM>\>t.  ^  ^  ^     ^      "        .  ^ 

"        - '     ^*  *  ■  ■  -fi     y 


■!■ 


■.i 


'l«^ 


,i'SS^., 


%    >  - 


^  ^f^  I  Jt'tftffcjfeii^i  1* 


r 


340 


NARWHALS    AT    PLAY. 


•'The  hummockings  of  this  morning  had  ceased; 
the  wind  so  gentle  as  hardly  to  he  perceptible:  the 
lead  before  me  was  an  open  river  of  water,  and  in  it 
were  narwhals  (M.  monoceros),  in  groups  of  five  or  six, 
rolling  over  and  over,  after  the  manner  of  the  dolphin 
tribe.     They  were  near  me;  so  near  that  I  could  see 
their  checkered  backs,  and  enjoy  the  rich  coloring 
that  decorates  them.    The  horn,  that  monodontal  proc 
ess  which  gives  them  their  name  of  sea-unicorn,  was 
perfectly  examinable.     Rising  in  a  spirally  indented 
cone,  this  beautiful  appendage  appeared  sometimes 
eight  and  ten  feet  out  of  water ;  one  especially,  whose 
tall  curvetings  astonished  my  body-guard.     I  never 
saw  a  more  graceful,  striking,  and  beautiful  exhibi- 
tion  than  the  unrestrained  play  of  these  narwhals.* 
In  the  same  open  water,  almost  in  company  with  the 
narwhals,  were  white  ^hsAes  {Delphinopterus  albi- 
cans, or  Beluga:  these  cetacea  have  so  many  names, 
they  puzzle  me),  and  seal  besides. 

» I  was  tempted  to  stay  too  long.  The  wind  sprang 
up  suddenly.  The  floe  began  tO  move.  I  thought  of 
the  crack  between  me  and  the  ship,  and  started  off. 
The  walking,  however,  was  very  heavy,  and  my  scur- 
vy patients  stiff  in  the  exffensors.  By  the  time  I 
reached  the  crack,  it  had  opened  into  a  chasm,  and 
a  river  as  broad  as  the  Wissahiccon  ran  between  me 
and  our  ship.  After  some  httle  anxiety— not  much 
—I  saw  our  captain  ordering  a  party  to  our  relief. 
The  sledges  soon  appeared,  dragged  by  a  willing  par- 

•  I  have  seen  many  of  these  fish  since,  but  never  under  such  cincumttances. 
I  stood  on  a  tedge  of  hummoclt  within  short  gunshot  The  animals  w*e  en- 
tirely^napprehensive.  The  non-symmetrical  character  of  the  "  horn  "  (an  un- 
duly developed  tooth,  say  the  naturalists)  was  not  seen ;  and  As  this  long  lanws 
like  process  played  about  at  a  constantly  yarying  angle,  it  reminded  me  of  the 
mast  of  some  simken  boat  swayed  by  the  waves.  


^5-, 


STATK    OF    THt    pack. 


341 


these  ice  openings  '"'''  ""»  ^*  «P  «» 

tendantL  Jn^  aTe  h„t  „  '^''7"'°«''.ng  and  oter  at- 
ing  up.  Our  preriourlr  *"?  *"  "  "^"P'^*"  •»«*• 
ruption  of  S  Ce  °*!  "'  """"  *'"''  'he  dis- 

LanLterSouL^™  toX    ?''  '?  ^'■'"*»'"' «™»  i"' 
although  the  veteTb:  TZ^""'  *^''»-'"""  -"P"- 

hJ":,  twi't  "2— y.  tke  date  of  our  ,a.t 

months/'The^toltld'irfeeX*^^**" 
absence  of  impact  or  coIlilstatZr/;, ''»''*'''' 
rity  of  this  great  pa«k     I  thh^k  H  ™  '^     "'"''S- ' 

doubted  whether  it  wfllV,     """y  ""^onaWy  be 

hberatio„ordes"uotirn  Z  '  ''^'"  '^''""'  »« 
the  tabK  the  ttld  tfi  rSlS"^-"^    ' 

.  centre  of  com,gotio„.    ItTpiZl  T  ^     -'  "'  '"  * 

f*t,  the  sun's  greater  depression  below  fh.  h^^'    ^ 
-owlS^,  the  limit  of  tJretT^ltSlt  '°»'' 


H^dayr=Tfi^ 


same  peculiar  crisp-  t 


\ 


"'Hi 


u 


'i* 


342 


A    WALK. 


>*t 


ing  or  crackling  sound,  wRich  I  noted  9n  the  2d  of 
February,  was  heard  this  morning  in  every  direction. . 
This  sound,  as  the  'noise  accompanying  the  aurora,' 
has  been  attributed  by  Wrangell  and  others,  ourselves 
among  the  rest,  to  changes  of  atmospheric  terpiperature 
acting  upon  the  crust  of  the  snow.  We  heard  it  most 
distinctly  between  seven  and  eight  A.M.,  when  the 
solar  ray  should  hegin  to  affect  the  snow.  The  mer- 
cury  stood  at  -27°  at  five^jising  to  -19°  by  nine  A.M., 
and  attaining  a  maximum  of  -2°  by  noonday ^^^  But 
this  is  not  tp  be  regarded  as  indicating  t^e  tempera- 
ture of  the  snow  surface.  The  snow,  when  horizontal, 
accjording  to  all  my,  observations,  differs  but  little  in 
temperature  from  the  atmosphere,  owing  probably  to 
its  obliflue  reception  of  the  solar  ray^  while  the  snow- 
coverings  of  the  hummocks  and  angular  floe-tables,  ' 
which  receive  the  rays  at  fight  angles,  show  by  re- 
peated trials  a  niarked  auglheet^ion.  I '  venture, 
therefore,  to  refer  this  peculiar  crisping  so6nd  to  the 
unequal  contraction  and  dilatation  of  these  unequally 
presentirjg  surfaces,  not  to  a  sudden  change  of  atmos- 
pheric temperature  acting  upon  the  snow. 

"  T§.day  we  saw  a  couple  of  icebergs  looking  up  in' 
the  far  south.        "  '    ' 

"^arcb  27,  Thursday.  The  sun  shbtie  olit,  but  not 
as  jfelterd^y;  The  little  cirrous  clouds  interfere  wit|i 
its  brightness,  and  affect  very  perceptibly  its  warmth. 
To  the  eye,  however,  the  day  is  undimmed. 

"The  wind,  which  we  watch  closely  as  the  index 
of  our  ice-chianges,  our  leading  variety,  came  out  at 
seven  in  the  evening  from  the  northward ;  and  with  it 
canie  a  rise  of  black  frost-smoke  to  the  south,  shovring 
that  the  old  ice-opening  had  gaped  again.  I  had  start- 
ed before  this  at  half  past  five,  with  old  Biinn,  my 


f 


Vii- 


THE    NARWHALS. 


343 


faithful  satellite,  for  a  KrJrrK+    ,  • 
low  .unshine  so^e  threemSlt'th  ''"f^^  "  *« 
rection.     We  did  not  get  back  «U    -^  T*'  *  ""'^  <«- 
"Let  me  nAke  a  pWure  f     ^'^'^''^■ 

faucy  ab«,e  it,  and  ySlyfet  h",""'""'"' "^  J"*  »f 
ors  if  he  canJ  TUeL„7lt  "'  '"  P"*  "  '"<»  «">'■ 
l«»g,  slanting  beamro?  c^I  '  I"''  '""^ '  »<•  h« 
fell  upoa  old  Bli„r»1Xrif '„"'^T''''''''''P«^P'«. 
of  ice  which  overhun/tle/el  Thlr*  ''°  "  ""* 
hops  s  mile,  wide  anH  ♦!,.  .     T'"'?  *'«»  Per- 

«.  painted  by  the  gl^^  TtJ'^th'^''"'  ^^'o 

f>^  like  sLakf  ofl  °e  t^  '^'  *■"'  """^  "P" 
Theplacs  to  whichwehS^^l  i "/  «'"«'»■»'•»  water, 
objected  to  tbree,  wWchlo  °t  ■  "^ '™'  *"«• '"'™ 
otic, -atui  enormona,  and  in^ll"  -''"'''•  ™  """^ 
A  line  of  did  Joe,  e  ght  fe St'     7.'"""  *"*  ^^X- 

n^  up  in  great  efflorescing^  fift^^''""'.  '"'^^'• 
^  f-»t  high  ;  and  from  an^fd%tl  jft^-^  ""''  *"'"• 
from  the  foam  of,  catai^t  ^       ',     *  '"^'"'''  '•''*»       -^ 
■  ofWae ice, floating  rtt!^^""°°  *P'"^Pare„t  table, 
ness.    Soie  of  t W  &  °"  ""^bstantial  white. 

thickne,..by  JXi^tZtrti""  ''^'  '" 
depth,  one  side  bein»  rii„  ?'  ?  "^  '"•'eto'minate 
On  one  of  thes^S  ^T^^.  {^""^  '"  *''«  »««■ 
»P*«-point;  diitc«r«et  ll  '1^^.?»'  "'''^"^ 
your  brother'  and  hfs  ZmJ^  ,?'  *'^'"  ''""'''IM 
narwhals  were  pirahCr^R  ''''.?'"^'''  "**'■» 

porpoises,  I  could  «oa  ♦»,„        i  ■  -    ^***''»P»*til  our  own 

fies.*Sea.,breaslM;rreL?S*''^*»«*''!*    :  ' 
'Nr  horizontal  tails,  and  the Th  te^."^  *?««:-»'*■>    '    • 


■*ki3f^i:-y*''-i%.A 


*f 


*    » 


*      i- 


."!  , 


H- 


344 


RETURN    TO    VESSEL. 


"March  23,  Friday.  I  visited  the  western  opening 
of  yesterday.  The  sea  has.  dwindled  to  a  n.fi|frow  [ane. 
flanked  by  the  heavy  hummocks,  whose  ruptare  formed 
the  sides.  Although  the  aperture  was  so  digtant  yes-* 
terday  that  I  could  barely  see  the  further  banks,  here 
and  there  xiotting  the  horizon,  it  has  no\\^  closed  with 
such  nice  adaptation  of  its  lijie  of  fracture,  that,  but  for 
a  few  yards  of  lateraJ  deviation,  this  *  yesternight  sea' 
would  be  nothing  but  a  crack  in  the  ice-field.  The 
area  of  filmy  ice  that  was  betwe^^  the  edges  of  the 
lead  had  been  thrust  tinder  the  flo6,  thus  aiding  the 
process  of  re-cementation.  These  ice-actions  are  very 
complicated  and  various. 

"  Retracing  my  steps  by  a  long  circuit  to  the  south- 
ward, I  came  to  a  spot  where,  without  any  apparent 
axis  of  fracture  (chasm),  the  ice  presented  all  the  phe- 
nomena of  table-hummocksi  It  was  very  old  and  thick,, 
at  least  nine  feet  in  solid  depth.  About  a  little  circle 
of  a  hundred  yards  diameter,  it  had  been  thrown  up 
into  variously-presenting  surfaces,  with  a  marked  bear- 
ing  toward  a  focus  of  greatest  energy  and"  accumula- 
tion, presenting  an  appearance  almost  eruptive.  The 
crushed  fragments  exuding  and  falling  over,  and  roll- 
ing down  toward  the  level  ice,  so  as  to  cover  it  for  feet 
in  depth  with  powdery,  granulated  rubbish  i 

r 


KIMAlNa  OF  A  BEJIO. 


Iv^ 


^*?i^ 


,\    *■■■■ 


TBB  FLO!  IB  APaiL. 


'i\     CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 


gradual  though  scareelv  1 '  ,  Tr**  '^  \^y  ^"""e 
of  our  oxtri  Jion  t^'jl*"'  P™eess>e  wo* 
would  come  to  JtZlZl       ,,^"""™«^  *he  wi^ 

"P  wind,  a.  we  iSu  br„f;^V''l'''r^'''"^- 
-taction  of  the  floe,  deveo^d  ;  Ll^.''r''^'''^'J  *''^' 
"lore  frequently  from  thlS  .    ■  ^'™'''  '  •""* 

to  amoregeniaUaZde     Thefl  ''1'""^  """°"^« 
however,  muoh  mom  1  ?'  themselves  were, 

w«  had  ;^rw!r    "^  ""''  ?"'"'«''  *han  any 
dons  of  theShlt"^  I'**"  «^»«S«™ted  impres. 

pleasurable  auiiroitr.      ™"''  ^'*  "^''^'y 
Sx.ni  my  journal  may  show  howT   .i,  ^**'"'' 

23 


V. 


346 


MEASURES    OF    AeAT. 


*'Apnl  7,  Monday.  For  the  last  fortnight  the  ice 

has  been  {)erceptibly  moist  at  tl^e  surface.     The  open 

crack  near  our  brig.to,  the  south Jtias  now  been  closed 

for  nearly  a  fortnight ;  yet  the  &aow  which  covers  it 

is  quite  slushy.     The  trodden  paths  around  our  ship 

^  are  in  muddy  pulp,  adhering  to  the  bj^ts.     All  this 

"i   ,       can  hardly  be  the  direct  influence  of  the  sun  upon  the 

surface;  for  tlie  thermometer  seldom  exceeds  +16°, 

and  is  more  generally  below  +10°  at  noonday.    Yet 

i  this  temperature  has  an  evident  influence  upon  the 

I  status  of  the  ice,  increasing  its  permeability^  and  per- 

mitting  some  changes  analogous  to  thawing,  but  which 

!  I  can  not  explain.     May  it  be  that  the  crystalline 

•  structure  of  the  ice  is  undergoing  some  modification, 

that  increases  its  capilarity,  or  develops  an  action  like 

the  endosmose  and  exosmose ! 

"  It  is  a  mere  puzzle,  of  course,  \for  we  have  not 
j  datsL  enough  to  make  itj,  question.     Yet  there  is  an- 

other like  it  that  I  can  not^*help  setting  down.  Can 
it  be  that  our  thermometers,  so  notorious  in  tl^is  Po- 
lar  region  for  their  imperfect  coincidence  with  *^ensa- 
tions  of  cold,'  are  equally  fkllacious  as  measures  of  < 
absolute  incremientsyr  decrements  of  sensible  caloric  1 
It  will  not  do,  I  suppose,  to  admit  such  a  supposition; 
yet  the  marvels  which  come  constantly  liei^die  mi> 
may  almost  justify  it.  You  know  that  I  am  no  heat- 
maker.  Well!  my  winter  trials,  as  you4nay  imagine, 
have  not  increased  my  vital  energies.  Suppose  me, 
/  then,  as  you  knew  me  when  I  left  New  York.    For 

\  the  past  week  I  have  almost  lived  an  the  open  air— 

geniai,  soft,  bland,  and  to  sensation  just  cool^enough 
,to  be  pleasantly  tonic.  I  walk  moderately,  and  am 
in  cimiibrtable,  globing  warmth.  I  walk  over  the 
hummocks  or  ice  floes,  and  am  oppressed  with  per- 


■•.  ' 


•\ 


THER 


TRICAL    FALLACIES. 


-^-  -        347 

spiration  and  lassitude.     This  at  .  + 
zero^in  the  shade,  and  -flio  /„%?        *^";P«r*t^e  of 
realise  it.     To-dav  thp  f  h  ^^  '"'^ ' ' '     ^  ««»  not 

.hade  of  the  l^^^    to^raTr  f^^  ^^'°  ^  *^« 
radiation,  +340  in  thr«"  "^*  *  '^**^"  ^^ 

side,  +130  by  my  owt  o>^     T  *^  '^'^'^  P^^^^^^ 

same  circumstances  in  th71  a         ^'  ^"^  ""^^^  the 
sepmed  spring.Iike  ^Vdd  Jf^^^^^  ^7/     Yet  the  day 

(B  A.M.)  from  the  southett    ^e  w^h'  '"'^  '"^^^^ 
reviving  coolness,  although  to  Th  ^  ''"'^*^«^  «^ 

haps  owed  our  -^sa^f  pVa/an^^^^^^^^ 

th«^ 

"I  hav«j  often  alluded  tn  fKic  a- 
«»r  feelings  and  thelecorfS  ,       '"P*""'"^*^'™ 
read  of  the  same  ZlTtA^T'"'"''-    ^  """^ 
reference  to  contrast  for  h.      f      "  ™y°«'''  '"'"h  a 

«»«,  ^day  rear/rfn,;t:':^^"*^-™' 

ftom  within  by  a  mvsterin»r      j  *  **^'e  warmed 
tnoFn  system  oS2r'''^"*"**««™.  in.  , 

liebig  could  n4ke  a  pif  v3"'t-  '  *'* 
oiMn-windowed  at  the  first  hrlT^  .  ^'  ''™  <«' 
«ft  your  thermomeW  ft  t  ,"«^-»  ''»y  «<■  Sl*ing, 
tbe  thermometeTaTz^^.'  ™™'"  «"°'  ■»  ''^'l  I  '^ith 

"■ipril  10,  Thursday,   2  PM      Th«        ... 
Wows  on  with  steady  enduran™  '   I»        '"»t''«Mtei 
«%  a  snowstorm  „mi~„„'  J'j^^Y  ««*  by     • 

»''«»tX.<Irimng.every  ww\nd  ^  t"^'  '"  ^^ 
» nsing  steadily  to+32  at  nS    "''*''«  ^«n"ometer 

freezing  point!!  it  seem,  1.^*       ^""^  """■*»*  "•«       . 


slushy.  .^  ■"  wmg,  tne  snow  adhesive  and 


\\ 


9^,. 


n                                             " 

.          A 

"'^^^mf'^,-^  ^.     "<:l- 

848,,^       *       \                           WATER. 

m 

• 

"  9  P.M.     The  gale  continues 

.    Our  theimometer 

, 

outside  at  a  maximuin  of  +33° 

.     Every  thing  wet, 

k 


/ 


warm,  and  summer-like. 

"  I  have  a  story  to  tell — a  foolish  adventure;  but  I 
was  en^iuied  past  all  bearing.  Walking  the  deck, 
heast-like,  in  our  damp  cage,  it  occurred  to  me  that  I 
would  climb  the  rigging.  Climb  the  rigging  I  did; 
and,  by  a  glimpse  between  the  long  wreaths  of  drift, 
saw  Wajter !  The  temptation  was  a  sore  one :  J  yield- 
ed to  it,  came  down  from  my  perch,  donned  my  seal- 
skin, shouldered  my  carbine,  and  walked  off  with  my 
face  toward  the  wonder.  None  of  the  crew  would 
accompany  me :  my  messmates  did  not  volunteer:  so 
I  was  alone. 

"It  was  a  walk  to  be  remembered.  Snow  up  to  the 
eck;  drift  nioist  and  blinding;  and  a  gale,  luckily 
ot  a  cold  one,  in  my  face.  But  after  a  mile  of  such 
romenading  as  no  other  region  can  boast  of,  I  reach- 
I'Cd  the  water  at  last.  Water  it  was ;  dark,  surging 
'water;  no  pellicles  of  glazing  ice;  no  sludgy  streams 
of  pancake;  but  the  liquid  element  itself,  such  as  we 
saw  last  summer,  and  you  see  every  day,  stretching 
out  as  broad  as  the  Delaware,  and  in  contrast  with 
the  snow  at  its  margin  as  black  as  Styx.  , 

"I  took  a  good  look  at  it,  and  turned  to.  come  back. 
The  wind  had  wiped  out  my  footsteps :  all  within  the 
horizon  was  a  waste  of  sleet.  \  had  neither  compass 
nor  signal  pole  to  show  me  the  way;  but  I  kept  Ihe 
gale  behind  me,  and  wadgd  onward.  I  do  not  know 
how  far  I  might,  have  traveled'  before  reaching  the 
vessel;  but  I  had  buffeted  the  elements  quite  long 
enough  to  content  me,  when  I  heard  Captain  GrifBn 
hailing  me  through  the  drift.  He  hftd  been  uneasy' 
ftf  my  stay,  and  was  out  in  search  of  pie.    We  took 


% 


.5".  '  r' 


ENDOSMOSrs. 


349 


a4a 

we  hit  the  ships  to  a  n't^h  '  '"'*  ^'■''"J  •»" 

"  This  crack  is  the  nJH  +:„ 
ea^t  to  southwest,  off  the  ^''"'^^f^^  «««  ^om  north- 
gale,  with  such  ate^^rl"  ^''  ^^^'^-     The 
-h  upon  the  ice  tlXstX^^^^^ 
reach  men  so  imbedderl  „""'^'^^^^'    Wn  hardJy 
break  up-the  southern  edire  ofTh       '  ■  T  "  """y  «> 
a  ready  drift,  .houM  we  hfve  1 1    ''        ^  '"  ^'^  "^ 
^,  *«ere  ...idoubtediy  mZl  ft^T^^  '''"''•    ^«  " 
"i^-nV  15.  The  sun  perctuf , I         "^ """"  "^^in. 
fetions  of  thaw  une^S^f '^  ^''™''^-»'l  «he  in. 
*«  can  against  the  cha„cr„f  the  f  ^"'"''  "^  '''''  •« 
separated  among  the  floes  when  th.        "T'"  ^'"^  - 
"mes,  we  began  a  trench  t„J^f      ^""^""^  teeakup 
Bgoes  dow/throuTthe  ;„   ''^""1"""*"  'he  <"h" 

;'- a-going  to  sti"':etr,t';*'r"''  '""■  •"■'• 

*at  even  a  slight  scratch  „„t?         /'  '•'"h«'nbering 
i-  the  line  o/fralT  ^Ve tiirt  "t  "'"  ''^"^^ 
eran  acfcss  the  entire  a  J.  Htu       ^  "  "^^  ""y  ™te, 
">«=king«t  the  open  water  th'^r™*  ^'"'"f 'mm- 
»~ly  or  ,„ite  two  X'  '"r  ^    "  T  "  *^*'™™  of 
approaching  disruptio"  M^th  »h     T  '°*"S  «»  ««' 
"hether  our  theorC„r!       j     ''""*"*''"^^;  »nd, 
«ething  t6  thMlrtofkl^M  '""^  ^'™  » 
««l.ine  belongs  to  tUsal  f  ^"r*'    "^  '"^-cutting 

'«^a,™dit^ib:tTe7tii;L^^«"'^''»^" 

"*  feet  hiffh  on  fL  ,  ,'^  ^  "P  «"»«  seven  or 

fating  heat  TyVX   'l^''^  *'"'  '^'«'  *^'        ' 
fcrt  I  am  strnU/j^^^l^  y  exp  am  this  depression.        ■ 

WBfs-i,  the  icef  *»  «r''e  jE".endosmotic  "^ 


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A    BE.AB. 


"  April  16.  To-day  the  salting  continues.  The  men 
call  it  our  spring-seed  sowing.  On  board  the  Rescue, 
a  party  are  at  work  preparing  for  the  return  to  her. 
The  ice-cutting  machine  proves  a  failure: 

"This  afternoon  a  solitary  snow-buuting  was  seen 

flitting  around  pur  vesself^'  The  last  time  we  saw  this 

little  animal  was  at  Griffith's  Island,  in  the  midst  of 

the  terrible  storin  which  we  were  sharing  with  our 

English  brethren!    Goodsir  saw  the  same  bird  on  the 

13th,  in  latitude  54° ;  but  he  was  not  at  "Winter  Island 

till  the  27th.     Since  then,  the  little  family  have  made  . 

their  migratory  journey,  and  are  now  on  their  way 

again  to  these  Polar  seas.     They  breed  seldom  or 

never  south  of  62°,  and  linger  late  among  the  North-, 

em  snows.     This  poor  little  wanderer  was  an  estray 

from  his  fellows.     He  paused  at  the  treasures  which 

surrounded  our  ship,  refreshed  himself  from  bur  dirt 

pile,  and  then  flew  away  again  on  his  weary  journey. 

''April  17.   A  memorable  day.    We  put  out  our 

cabin  lamps,  and  are  henceforward  content  with  day- 

light,  like  the  rest  of  the  world.    Our  latitude  is  69° 

62' ;  our  longitude,  63°  03'. 

"This  afternoon,  while  walking  deck,  this  endless 
deck,  with  Murdaugh,  we  discovered  a  bear  walking 
tranquilly  alongside,  nearly  within  gunshot.  We 
have  lost  so  many  opportunities  by  the  bustle  and 
ignorance  of  a  universal  chase,  that  I  crawled  out  to 
attack  him  alone.  To  my  sorrow,  the  brute,  who 
had  been  gazing  at  the  ship  dog-fashion  and  curious, 
turned  tail.  He  was  out  of  range  for  my  carbine,  hut 
I  gave  him  the  ball  as  he  ran  in  his  right  hind-quarter. 
He  fell  at  once,  and  I  thought  him  secure;  l>ut  ^ii^ 
instantly,  he  turned  upon  his  wounded  haunch,^d, 
very  much  as  a  dog  does  at  a  bee-sting,  bit  spagmodi- 


;ii*  ^vjyi 


^0^ 


THE    BEAR. 


361 


cAlly  atthe  wound.  For  a  little  while  he  Spun  round, 
biting  the  bloody  spQt  with  a  short,  probing  nip;  and 
then,  before  i  could  reload  my  piece,  started  off  at  a 
hmping  but  japid  gait.  I  mention  this  movement  on 
account  of  thfe  very  curious  fact  which  follows.  The 
animal  had  found  the  ball,  seized  it  between  the  in- 
cisors,  and  extracted  it.  The  bullet  is  now  in  mv  dos. 
session,  distinctly  marked  by  his  teeth 

up  to  him  at  the  young  ice.    He  stood  upon  th^brink 
of  the  leaa.    I  was  within  long  shot,  and  about  to 
make  preparations  for  a  more  deliberate  and  certain 
ajm,  when  he  took  to  the  water,  and  then  to  the  oppo- 
site  young  ice,  Bleeding  and  dropping  every  few  yZn. 
"Joined  by  Daly,  a  bold  bull-headed  Irishman,  I 
crossed  by  a  circuitous  channel,  and  then  took  to  the 
young  ice  myself,  and  tried  to  run  him  down.    It  was 
very  exciting;  and" I  fear  I  was  not  a«  prudent  as  I 
ought  to  have  been;  for  a  dense  ftg  ha^  gathered 
around  us,  and  the  young  floe,  level  as  the  sea  which 
It  coyered,  was  but  two  nights  old.    The  bear  fell 
several  times;  and  at  la^t,  poor  fellow,  dragged  him- 
.  self  by  his  fore  feet,  trailing  his  hind  quarters  over  the 
mcrusted  snow  so  bm  to  leave  a  long  blaisk  imprint 
stained  by  blood. 

"The  fog  wa«  getting  more  and  more  dense,  and 
the  frail  ice-we  were  now  walking,  as  it  were,  over 
the  sea  itself-bent  under  us  so  much,  that  I,  like  a 
prudent  mail,  ordered  a  retiirn.  This  chase  cost  us  at 
^ast  ten  miles  of  journey,  part  of  it  at  an  Indian  trot. 
We  dnpped  like  men  in'  a  steam  bath. 

'^April  20,  Sunday.  Daly  started  with  a  company 
of  sailors  after  the  wounded  bear.    They  walked,  by 
Jheir  own^aflQQunt.^Mx^  miles  bef^e  they  found  hintr— 


.4^ 


!,'♦ 


'M««v25«»nS, 


-  — \ 


-^ 


352 


THE    BEAR. 


He  was  unable  to  retreat — stood  at  bay ;  and  the  fools 
were  so  scared  at  his  '^owjings'  and  his  'bloody 
tongue,'  that  they  returned  without  daring  to  attack 
him. 

"April  21,  Moinday.  I  have  more  than  common 
cause  for  thankfulness.  A  mere  accident  kept  me 
from  starting  last  night  to  secure  our  bear.  Had  1 
done  so,  I  would  probably  ^ave  spared  you  reading 
more  of  my  journal.  The  ice  over  which  we  traveled 
so  carelessly  on ,  Saturday  has  become,  by  a  sudden 
movement,  a  mass  of  floating  rubbish.  An  open  river, 
broader  than  the  Delaware,  is  now  between  the  old  ice 
and  the  nearest  part  of  the  new,  over  which  I  walked 
on  the  19th  more  than  three  miles. 

"  In  the  walk  of  this  morning,  which  startled  me 
with  the  chiange,  I  saw  for  the  first  time  a  seal  upon 
the  ice.  This  looks  very  summer-like.  He  was  not 
accessible  to^ our*  guns.  To-day,  for  the  first  time  too, 
the  gulls  were^flying  over  the  renovated  water.  Com- 
ing back  we  saw  fresh  bear  tracks.  HiH|i|a)nderful 
is  the  adaptation  which  enables  a  quqflKd,  to  us 
a^ociated  inseparably  with  a  land  e3f*stence,  thus  to 
inhabit  an  ice-covered  ocean.  We  ai;e*at  least  eighty 
miles  from  the  nearest  land,  Cape  Kater ;  and  chan- 
nels innumerstble  must  intervene  between  us  and  terra 
firma.  Yet  this  majestic  animal,  dependent  upon  his 
own  predatory  resources  alone,  and,  defying  cold  as 
well  as  hunger,  guided  by  a  superb  instinct,  confides 
himself  to  these  solitary,  unstable  ice-fields. 

"  Parry,  in  his  adventurous  Polar  efibrt,  found  these 
animals  at  the  most  northern  limit  of  recorded  observ- 
ation. Wrangell  had  them  as  companions  on  his  first 
Asiatic  journey  over  the  Polar  ocean.  Navigators 
have  found  them  also  floating  upon  berg  and  floe  far 


f  <»'...*•  ■■T,^^.,_  ,4  ,,- 


,J- 


THE    BEAR. 


\ 


353 


out  m  open  sea;  and  here  we  havl5.them  in  a  region 
some  seventy  miles  from  the  nearest"  stahle  ice.    Thev 
have  seldom,  or,  as  far  as  my  readfcgs  go,  never-if 
we  except  Parry's  Spitzbergen  experience-been  seen 
so  far  from  land.    (In  the  great  majority  of  ca^es,  they 
8eem  to  have  be^  accidentally  caught  and  carried 
adrift  on  disengaged  ice-floes.  °'  In  this  way  they  travel 
to  Iceland;  and.  it  may  have  been  so  perhaps  with 
the  Spitzbergen  instances.    Others  have  been  reported 
^  T^ft^  from  shore  in  this  bay.    \  myselF  noticed 
them  fifty  miles  from  the  Greenland  coa^t  last  July. 
There  is  something  very  fo^d  about  this  tawnv 
savage;  never  leaving  this  utter  destitution,  this  frigid 
inhospitableness-coupling  in  May,  and  bringing  forth 
m  Christmas  time--a  gestation  carried  on  aU  of  it 
below  zero,  more  than  half  of  it  in  Arctic  darkness- 
Imng  m  perpetual  snow,  and  dependent  for  life  upon 
a  never-ending  activity-usfng  the  frozen  water  as 
a  raft  to  traverse  the  open  seas,  that  the  water  un- 
frozen  may  yield  him  the  means  of  life.     No  time 
for  hibernation  has  this  Polar  tiger;  his  Kfe  is  one 
great  winter."  *  i 


>  I 


-\_  5St-^_ 


-       .  CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

''April  22.  The  past  week  has  been  one  of  dis- 
mantling,  rubbish-creating,  ship-cleaning  torment. 
First,  bull's-eyes  were  inserted  in  the  deck;  and  the 
black  felt  housing,  so  comfortable  in  the  winter  dark- 
ness,  but  that  now  shut  out  the  sunlight  like  a.great 
pall,  was  triced  up  fore  and  aft,  remaining  only  amid- 
ships.  Next,  the  Rescue,  with  her  new  bowsprit  in, 
Received  her  crew  and  officers.  They  slept  on  board 
last  night  for  the  first  time,  but  still  walk  over  the 
ice  to  their  mea\s. 

"When  I  saw  the  little  brig  through  the  darkness, 

on  the  afterneon  of  the  13th  of  January,  moving 

slowly  past  us  and  losing  herself  in  the  gloom,  while 

sounds  like   artillery  mingled  with   the    shrieking, 

howling,  and  crashing  of  the  ice,  as  the  great  ridges 

rose  and  fell— and  when  the  India-rubber  boat  was 

launched,  and  the  men  took  their  knapsacks,  and  old 

Brooks  called  out  to  us  to  get  out  of  the  way  of  the 

rigging,  believing  the  brig  about  to  topple  over— I  did 

not  think  there  would  J)e  a  spring-time  for  the  Rescue. 

"We  are  now  in  the  midst  of  those  intestine  changes 

which  charaicterize  the  house-cleanpgs  at  home.   The 

_  disgusting  lamps  have  done  smoking,  the  hatches  are^ 


f 


/ 


H 


THAWING. 


355 


allowed  to  look  out  at  the  sun,  and  the  galley,  with 
Its  perpetual  odors,  is  hanished  to  the  hurricane, 
house  on  deck  That  peculiar  interspm^e  Between 
the  coal  and  the  'purser's  slops,'  sbdark  and  full  of 
head-bumping  beams,  exults  in  the  full  glare  of  day. 

It'll  ^^^:^^«^'.««  ^*  ^  «^Ued  on%ard  ship,  is  three 
,    feet  m  inches  high,  by  fourteen  feet  longand  seven- 
teen  Voad.     On  it,  forgetful  of  precedence  and  rank, 
our  bedding  separated  from  the  loose  planking  by  a 
canvas  cot  frame,  slept  Murdaugh,  Vreeland,  Brooks, 
DeHaven  two  cooks,  and  Dr.  Kane.     The  la^t-named 
came  on  board  la^t,  and  found,  though  he  is  not  a 
very  laxge  man,  a  sufficiently  narrow  kennel  between 
the  companion-ladder  and  the  dinner-table.   Our  cloth- 
ing,  a«  It  now  welcomed  the  sun,  wa«  black  With  lanM- 
T'\^^A  ^^ff  \^^v«  fringed,  and  festooned,  and 

oT  h«  j;      It"  '""'"•    ^y  ^d-coverings,  frozeri 
over  the  fee  m  the  winter,  are  bathed  with  inky  wa- 

Wt  ,\f ,     '  ""^^  '""^^^^'^  to-day;  and  we  go 
lotbta^L  '""^^^-^^  '^'«'  ^^^  daylight,  and^a 
"The  day  was  bright  ftnd  sunny.    I  walked  out  to 
the  open  water.     Marks  of  commotion,  hummock 
ndges,  and  chasms.    A  new  feature  was  the  thaw. 
Heretofore  I  could  stand  upon  the  brink  of  the  cleajilv- 
Beparated  fissures,  ahd  look  down  upon  the  bleak  water 
aa  securely  a«  from  a  quartz  rook.    To-day  every  thinff 
ai^und  (pshaw!  tfee  snow  and  ice,  I  meL;  w^  ha^f 
no  thtngs  here)  w^  wet  an(<  crumbling.     The  snow 
covered  deceitfully  som6  ver^  dangerous  cracks:  in 
one  of  these  I  sunk  neck  de4p.    My  carbine  caught 
across  it,  and  Holnjes  pulled  me  out. 

^JlWewejery  anxious  to  obtain  fresh  meat  for  the— 


*\ 


""Ti*^*-"- 


/'■' 


/> 


356 


PROGRESS    OF-  THE    SEASON. 


invalids.  Indeed,  our  longing  for  something  fresh  is 
itself  a  disease.  To-day  a  tantalizing  seal  kept  me 
prostrate  upon  the  slushy  ice  for  an  hour  and  a  half. 
In  spite  of  all  my  seal-craft,  the  prime  secret  of  which 
is  patience,  I  could  not  draw  him  into  gunshot.  With 
the  characteristic  curiosity  of  his  tribe,  the  poor  animal 
would  rise  breast  high  to  inspect  my  fur  Cap.  Pres- 
•  ently  a  whale  spouted,  and  off  he  went. 

"The  decks  are  clear!  the  barrels  stowfed'  away 
below,  the  fore-peak  restored,  the  old  bunks  reoccu- 
pied,  and  my 'messmates  snoozing  away  as  in  old 
times,  a  fire  burning  in  the  stove,  and  lard  lamps 
flaming  away  vigorously  upon  my  paper.  Paylight 
still  finds  its  way  down  the  hatch,  although  it  is 
eleven  o'clock. 

"4pn7  24,  Thursday.  The  snow  falls  in  loose,  flaky, 
home  feathers.  The  decks  are  wet,  and  the  misty  air 
has  the  peculiar  ground-glass  translucency  which  1 
noticed  last  summer.  When  I  came  up  before  break- 
fast to  look  around^,  the  theriftometer  gave  +32°,  the 
familial'  temperature  of  old  times :  to  me  it  was  warm 
and  sultry. 

"  The  season  of  summer,  if  not  now  upon  us,  is  close 
at  hand.  It  seems  but  yesterday  that  we  hailed  the 
dawning  day,  and  burned  our  fingers  in  the  frozen 
mercury ;  now  we  have  a  summer  snow-stonn  at  32°. 

"This  little  table  will  show  you  how  stealthily  and 
how  rapidly  summer  has  trampled  down  winter: 

Mean  temperature  for  week  ending  March  14th,  —23°  94'. 
•>  "  "       "         "  "      3l8t,  — 9°  07';  gain,  U°87'. 


it 


II         II 
five  days 


28th,  —16°  90' ;  loss  7°  83'. 
April  4th,  —4°  31' ;  gain,  12°  39'. 
"     nth,  -1-8°  69' ;  gain,  12°  90*. 
"     18th,  -i-9°  65'  J  gain,  0°  65'. 
"    23d,  .^-1*°  66' ;  gain,  6°  01'. 


^Changes  show  themselves  in  the  configuration  of^ 


..■%■■; 


A    FOX. 


357 


tiie  snow  s^rface^  .The  hummo6#8  seem  alreaxly  to 
larLrhrH''  '^  r^^^^*^^-  ney  are  less  angl? 
JNight  has  gone.  I  see  still  at  midnight  the  circum- 
ern  sKy,  but  I  can  read  at  midnight 

northeast.  The  snow  is  melted  through  the  crust  I 
smk  up  to  my  knees.  Saw  tha  trac&  of  a  fox  very 
r«^nt.  The  little  fellow  had  cole  from  the  dteS 
of  the  poor  wounded  bear,  now  cut  off  from  us  by  the 

Mg,  some  fifteen  paces.  So  long  as.his  patron  could 
have  supplied  him  with  food,  the  little  p^asite  wou  d 
not  have  left  him.  It  may  be  that  the^ear  hrper^ 
ished  from  inability  to  hunt  for  both 

geese  at  9  A.^,  wmging  their  way  to  the  northward, 
and  flymg  very  low.  They  were  so  irregularin  thei^ 
order  of  aght,  that  1  would  have  taken  them  fo"d^ks 
-the  Somaterm  ;  but  my  messmates  say  geese 

"jpnl  26  Saturday.  One  of  the  changes^whkh  we 
must  expecrhas  brought  back  to  us  comparative  w^ 
tor.    Yesterday  gave  us  a  noonday  and  morning  tern 
pemture  of +28o.    It  i,  now  (10  P.M.)„-9o     ft  t^ 

change  is  due  to  a  northerly  wind     It  !.„.  ki 
Steadily  throughout  the  day  IZlZt^  nortT 
We  hope  much  from  it  in  the  way  of  drift.     Our  lat 
itude  wa.  690  .0^  42'^N ;  our  longitude,  63o  08  46^  W 
I  A  ^Z'^'''^  J^^^Se  ha^  given  us  no  new  ruptures' 

S  T^  '^T'"*  "^  *^«  environing  fS 
around  us.  This  may  he  a  good  preface  to  a  squeeze  • 
for  I  can  see  no  water  from  the  mast.he«^     ^  ' 


/ 


368 


NARWHALS. 


"  The  stars  at  midnight  remind  me  of  our  Lancas- 
ter  Sound  noondays.  The  peculiar  zone  of  fairly  blend- 
ed light,  stretching  over  an  amplitude  of  some  seventy 
degrees — ^the  colors  red,  Indian  red,  Italian  pink,  with 
the  yellows ;  and  then  a  light  cobalt,  gradually  deep- 
ening into  intense  indigo  as  it  reaches  the  northern 
horizon. 

''April  27,  Sunday.  The  cold  increases,  and  our 
northwest  wind  continues.  The  day's  observation 
gives  us  69°  35'  50'',  so  that  we  still  go  south  eficour- 
agingly,  though  slowly.  This  big  floe  is  so  solid,  that 
some  of  us  are  beginning  to  fear  it  may  resist  the  press- 
ure,  and  not  break  up  in  the  bay;  leaving  us  to  the 
thaws  of  summer  and  the  stormy  winds  of  September 
before  our  imprisonment  ceases.  The  apprehension 
has  no  mirth  in  it. 

"Walked  to  the  open  water  to  the  northward,  near- 
ly ahead  of  us.  The  leads  were  so  frozen  over  as  to 
bear  me.  Looking  across  the  level,  letting  my  eyes 
wander  from  tussock  to  tussoclj:  of  entangled  floe-ice, 
as  they  had  grouped  themselves  in  freezing,  I  heard 
the  blowing  of  a  narwhal,  followed  by  the  peculiar 
swash  of  squeezing  ice.  A  short  walk  showed  me 
some  six  or  eight  conical  elevations,  forced  upward 
upon  the  recently-formed  ice,  evidently  by  a  force  pro- 
truding from  beneath.  While  looking  at  these,  the 
sounds,  though  seemingly  further  off",  increased  to  such 
a  degree  that  I  was  convinced  the  ice  was  in  action, 
and  started  off"  to  double  a  cape  of  hummocks  and  see 
the  commotion.  Our  steward,  Morton,  a  shrewd,  ob 
servant  fellow,  who  was  with  me,  suddenly  called  out, 
'  Look  here,  sir— here !' 

"Each  of  these  little  cones  was  steaming  like  the 
salices  or  mud-volcanoes  of  Mexico,  the  broken  ice  on 


KETUKNINO    LIGHT. 


3S9 


top  Vibrating  and  every  now  and  then  tnmbline  as 
U  by  some  pulsatory  movement  below.  PreaenUy  Tn 
one  concerted  diapason,  a  group  of  narwhals,  impris 

release,  scattenng  spray  and  sfcw  in  every  direction 
I  was  not  more  than  three  yards  from  the  nTaest 
<»ne,  yet  I  could  see  nothing  of.the  animal  eZpl 

,ullt^  "Tu  '""  ""  «""'*  *''**  ^  «°»W  ho'dfy  make 
the  steward  hear  me.    It  had,  moreover,  more  of  vd™  ■ 

-a  distinct  and  somewhat  metallic  tone,  thrown  out 
unpulsively,  and  yet  with  the  crescendo  and  Zinu 
endo  of  an  expiration.   Acoor^ling  to  the  views  ofTome 
systematic  natumlists,  the  cetacea  have,  strictly  speT 

t^on.    The  white  whale  in  Wellington  Sound  whis- 
Ued  whJe  submerged  and  swimming  under  our  W- 
^d,  in  the  present  singular  case,  the  ejaculatory  ch« 
%    ?%?"  r '"'«»  "te  a  gigantic  bark!t 
H,.  5  \ '  ^'T,''»y-  A  little  before  ten  this  morning.N 
^n  wtbV    '"T*''°'"^'"''""-™*esnowhr 
Wedl^H     r"^  T™"^'  of  pearly  opaJs  and  mel- 
lowed  fire  displayed  about  the  souttem  heavens     At 
nooni  watted  out  in  the  full  glaffventy-five  degret 
.bovethefreezmg-pointonmyfJe^ndaLutriSly 
Wlow  It  on  my  back-a  May^iay  frolic  in  the  snow^ 

t  On  this  occasion,  1  heard  the  white  whnL  «m.ri„ 
i»l.  I»t,een  th.  whistle  aild  U.e  S^.f, 2°«n  """  "■""—  l«°"li" 
IbeJewUmj.    Once  oirc.n»  r.„      •!  ^  On' men  compared  h  lo 

teMipenings,  hcen  slartled  bv  o,.  S™«    """''"»«.»  "J  ""Iks  oier  the 
«« namLi  B«l  a^Sg  o?.'n°.„'y.^'f""'"«°  't°  "■"Ion  iH«i«  of  . 


^ 


-4 


.\ 


360 


THE    BCURVY. 


^' 


-♦'. 


The  crisp  covering,  over  which  I  used  to  skim  along  a 
few  we^ks  ago,hrokQ  through  with  me  at  evety  step.  It 
was  just  strong  enough  to  tantalize  and  deceive.  Nev- 
er,  in  the  warmest  days  of  summer  harvest-time,  have 
I  felt  the  heat  so  much  as  on  thife  Arctic  May-day ;  and 
yet  no  life,  no  organization  carried  me  back  to  thp 
spring-tiriie  of  reviving  nature.  Even  the  tinnitus  of 
the  idie  ear,  that  inner  droning  that  sings"  to  you  in  the 
sl^erit  sunshine  at  home,  wtfs  wanting*  Ip  |*act,  the^i,- 
lentness  was  so  complete,  and  the  refleqtiom  from  the 
snow  so  excessive,  though  I  had  a  green  rag  ^er  my 
face,,  that  when  I  got  far  jiway,  and  out  of  sight  of  ev- 
ery  thing  hut  the  intermijiable  ice,  it  made  me  feel  as 
if  the  world  I  left  you  in  and  the  world  ah^out  me^were 
not  exactly  parts  of  the  same  planet. 

"Apd  so  I  traveled  baclc  to  my  sick  men.  God 
bless  us !  here  are  old  Blinn,  and  Carter,  and  'Wilson, 
all  on  ray  list  for  fainting  spells :  the  same  scurvy  syn- 
cope our  officers  complain  of.  Captain  Griffin  faint- 
ed  dead  away,  and  Lovell  complains  of  strange  feel- 
ings.  We  need  fresh  food  sofefy.  I  hardly  think  any 
organized  expedition  to  these  regions  was,  ever  so  com- 
pletely  deprived  of  anti-scorbutio  diet  as  we  are  at  t^ 
time. 

"  IVEdriight.  My  old-  scurvy  symptoms,  it  may  be, 
that  keep  me  from  sleeping.  But  I  write  by  the  light 
of  the  sun;  and  it  repily  seems  to  me  that  there  is  a 
something  about  this  persistent  day  antagonistic  to 
sleep.  The  idea  thrust  itself  upon  me  last  summer. 
Thinl^ing  the  fact  oyer  afterward,  I  referred  it  to  hab- 
it, acting  unphilosophioally,  as  it  is  apt  to  do ;  and 
condiided  that  my  sleeplessne^  was  not  connected 
-  directly  with  the  augmented  or  continued  light.  But 
this  is  not  so.    I  neither  get  to  sleep  so  easily  nor  sleep 


H-- 


SNOW  blihdiIess. 


361 


a.  long  nor,  mdeed,  do  I  seem  to  need*he  same  quan- 
fly  of  sleef  a«  when  we  hAl  the  alternation  ofligh't 
and  .tarkness.    ft,  the  other  hand,  1  think  our  long 

•the  same  restohrfb,  blessing,  thongh  my  journal  has 
jown  you  that  .ur  waking  energi^  durLg  that  peri^ 
od  were  not  bo  heavily  t«ed  a,  to>uire  more  !kl 
their  usual  mtermission."       ^ 
The^day  irfterilJi,  entry  super^dai  the  visitation 

iTr^^H  ^i"*"  ^  •^*^'^-  Fo"'  of  the  party 
were  attacked  severely,  myself  among  the  rest  so 
severely,  mdeed,  6  to  miSke  it  impossible  for  1  t^ 
wnte  and,  what  was  much  more  inl^ortant  in  the  et 

tt  V  !  ''"«'^n,°-to»  *Wcl.  were  made  in  my  journal 
by  the  kmdness  of  a  brother  oifioer  spe^  of  oursenst 

los-field.    Though  the  windsVere  generally  ftom  the 

m  one  day  we  reduced  our  latitude  eighteen  mUes 

Cvf  '"' T" *'""'  ""'"y "  -'ogi'eo  «f  16np"ud^: 
hventy-two  jules  to  the  east.     The  ic^  too,  w^  W 

cojg  more  mfiltratod,  tod  the  heavy  snow-banks  ' 
ta  surrounded  our  ^ssel  were  saturated  with  water  ' 
opnng  was  doing  its  office. 


•  if 


'^n 


=#«- 


.     -  A 


■/,- 


COITIMO  OUT,  MAT,  1651. 

CHAPTER  XL. 

On  the  11th,  I  was  well  enough,  or  imprudent 
enough,  to  attempt  a  seal  hunt.  Our  mean  temper- 
ature  had  sunk  to  19°  5^  and  the  snow-crust  was 
strong  enough  to  hear.  A  gale  haxl  swept  away  he 
loose,  fleecy  drifts  of  the  fortnight  hefore,  exposmg  the 
familiar  surface  of  the  older  snow.    I  walked  over  it 

as  I  did  in  April.  ,    ^         .v. 

.  "Readhing  the  seat  of  the  ojJen  water  to  the  north- 
ward,  I  found  it  closed  hy  young  ice,  an  extensive 
surface  frail  and  unsafe.  Ahout  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
from  the  edge  of  tfie  old  floe,  almost  in  the  centre  ol 
this  recent  lead,  was  a  seal.  The  temptations  of  the 
flesh  were  too  much  for  me:  I  ventured  the  ice,  crawl- 
ed on  my  helly,  and  reached  long-shot  distance.. 

The  animal  thus  laboriously  stalked  was  large;  a 
hirsute,  bearded  fellow,  with  ^e  true  plantigrade 
countenance.    All  his  senses  were  devoted^  e^^ 


T. 


CUTTIIJiO    OUT. 


363 


ment:  he  wallowed  in  the  sludge, 'stretched  out  in 
the  sunshine,  played  with  his  flippers,  lying  on  his 
back,  much  as  a^eavy  horse  does  in  a  skin-loosening 
roll  I  rose  to  fire-and  down  he  went.  An  unseen 
hole  had  received  him:  a  lesson  for  future  occasions. 
This  hole  wa^  critically  circular,  beveled  from  the 
under  surface,  and  symmetrically  embanked  round 
with  the  pulpmous  material  which  he  had  excava- 
ted  from  the  ice. 

"Crawling  back  less  actively  than  I'ha^  approach- 
ed  my  carbine  arm  broke  through,  oaj^ing  my  gun 
and  It  up  to  the  shoulder.  It  waJKSry  well,  aU 
thmgs  considered,  that  my  body  did  not  follow  for  I 
wa^^on  a  very  rotten  shell,  and  nearly  two  miles  from 
the  brigs,  alone. 

"Wednesday  12.  For  the  last  fortnight,  our  ice-to, 
und^r  Murdaugh's  supervision,  has  been  hard  at  work 
To-day  we  have  a  trench  opened  to  our  gangway 

"The  ice  shows  the  advancing  season.    It  is  no 
ongersphntery  and  quartz-like,  spawling  off  under 
the  axe  in  dangerous  little  chips;  but  sodden,  infil- 
teated  ice,  such  as  we  see  in  our  ice-houses.    Th« 
water  has  got  into  ite  centre,  and  the  crow-bars,  after 
he  sawmg  out,  break  it  rea4Uy  up  for  hauling  upon 
tje  field     The  process  is  this:  First,  we  cut  two  par- 
aUel  tracks,  four  feet  aaunder,  through  six  and  five  feet 
ice,  with  a  ten-foot  saw;  then  lozenged  diagonals;  then 
stoaps  (ropes)  a^re  passed  around  the  fragment^  and  a 
block  and  Ime,  nautice  jigger,  or  watoh  tackle,  made 
last  to  the  bowsprit,  hauls  the  lumps  upon  the  floe 
where  they  are  broken  up  by  the  ice  bars.    A  formi-' 
dable  bamcade  of  dirty  ice,  about  the  size  and  shape 
of  gneiss  buildmg  stones,  is  aJrea<fy  inclosing  our  ves- 
ML  Ma&yapoor  fellow  has  had  an  fflvoluntary  sUder= 


364 


SCURVY. 


bath  into  the  freezing  n^ixture  alongside ;  but  in  most 
cases  without  unpleasant  consequences." 

I  remember  only  one  serious  exception.    It  was 
that  of  our  heroine  of  the  Thespian  corps,  Jim  Smith. 
The  immediate  result  for  him  was  an  attack  of  scurvy, 
so  marked,  yet  so  blended  with  the  active  symptoms 
belonging  to  arthritic  disease,  as  to  incline  me  to  an 
opinion  for  the  time  that  there  may  be  such  a  thing 
as  acute  scurvy,  or  a  sudden  inflammatory  sthenic 
action,  whose  characteristics  are  scorbutic.    He  had 
immediately  stitch,  dyspnoea,  pains  in  the  back  and 
joints,  and  in  the  alveolar  and  extensor  muscles,  just 
as  in  his  previous  attacks  of  scurvy,  but  without  fever. 
The  day  after,  he  was  so  distressed  by  his  stitch,  that 
I  feared  pleuritis.     On  looking  at  his  shins,  I  found 
large  purpuric  blotches,  which  were  not  there  a  week 
before.    I  commenced  the  anti-scorbutic  tyranny  at 
once ;  and  the  next  morning  his  gums  bled  freely,  his 
pains  left  him,  and  he  took  his  place  again  at  the  ice- 
saw. 

"Several  laridsB  flew  about  us:  I  heard  them  to-day 
for  the  second  time— pleasant  tones,  with  all  their  dis- 
cord.  Do  you  remember  the  skylairk's  song,  'a  drop, 
ping  from  the  sky,'  in  the  'Ancient  Mariner?'  I 
thought  of  it  this  morning  when  the  gulls  screeched 
over  our  motionless  brig. 

''May  18,  Sunday.  First,  of  late,  in  my  daily  records 
^  is  this  glorious  wind,  still  from  the  northwest,  fresh 
and  steady.  It  is,  as  is  every  thing  else  for  that  mat- 
ter,  a  Godsend.  3!o-day*s  observation  places  us  but 
thirty-two  miles  from  Cape  Searle,  and  seventy  from 
Cape  Walsingham,  the  abutting  gate  of  Davis's  Straits, 
where  th^  channel  is  at  its  narrowest,  and  where  oui 
— imprisonment  ought  to  end.  — ^ 


COSTUME. 


365 


"  This  welcome  vvind-visitor  is  still  freshening :  it 
It7.'l|r         ""'  '  '°P^'  "^  ^^*^^  ^""i--y  before 

"I  found  to-day  a  rough  caricature  drawing  by  one 
of  the  men :  some  of  the  mess  call  it  a  portrait  of  2! 

Mere  it  is.      A  long  musket  on        ^^ 
shoulder ;  a  bear  knife  in  the  leg 
of  the  left  boot ;   a  rim  of  wolf, 
skin  around  my  head,  leaving  the 
bare  scalp  with  its  'hairs'  open 
to  the  breeze;   rough  Guernsey 
frock,  overlined  by  a  red  flannel 
shirt,  in  honor  of  the  day  onwiacfe*' 
thou  Shalt  do  no  labort  legs  in 
sMlor  pants  ofpilot  cloth,  slop-shop  .>,  . 
cut;  feet  in  seal-hide  socks  or  bus-  '^^' 
kins,  of  Esquimaux  fabric  and  Es- 
quimaux smell;  a  pair  of  crimson  ^^^H.^sW 
woolen  mittens,  which  commenced  ^^^^^^  ' 

then-  career  aa  a  neck  comforter-         ,^ 

and  a  little  green  rag,  the  snow  veil,  fluttering  over  a 
weather-beaten  fa.e :  pla«e  all  this,  for  want  of  a  be  ' 

^^fr"!  r  ^'"^  ^'''^''  ''^^he  Arctic  squ«^;o„ 
credfT  h  '  ^^^^°«^J;  ^hich  may  possibly  do^TZ 
credit,  I  have  never  before  alluded  to  the  garniture  of 
my  outer  man.    I  may  a«  well  teU  the  truH  oLe 
We  are  m  uncouth,  snobby,  and  withal,  shabby-Zk 
mg  set  of  vaxlets.     L'iUustre  Bert^and  would  be  a 
^  Beau  Brummel  alongside  of  us.    We  are  shabby 
because  we  have  worn  out  all  our  flimsy  wardrobes' 

dllnlTi    ^'.  ^!Tl  °"'.  «<ivance  in  the  new  art 


«otyet extend  to  the  picturesque  or  well-fitting. 


,:V^,>,. 


366 


COSTUME. 


^\  wish  some  of  my  soda-water-in-the-morning  club 
friends  could  see  me  perspiring  over  a  pair  of  pants, 
dorcassing  a  defunct  sock.     We  do  our  own  sewing, 
clothing  ourselves  cap-a-pie ;   and  it  astonishes  me, 
\  looking  back  upon  my  dark  period  of  previous  igno- 
\rance,  to  feel  how  much  I  have  learned.    I  wonder 
\srhether  your  friend  the  Philadelphia  D'Orsay  knows 
ho\V.to  adjust  with  a  ruler  and  a  lamp  of  soap  the  seat 
*^f  a  jia^ir  of  breeches  ?  .>•       ' 

.**"  Why,  I  have  even  naade  discoveries  in— I  forget 
the  Greek  word  for  i1>-^the  art  which  made  George 
the  Fourth  so  famous.    Thus  a  method,  adopted  by 
our  mess,  of  cutting  five  pair  of  stockings  out  of  one 
hammock  blanket-^a  thing  hitherto  deemed  impossi- 
ble— is  altogether  my  own.   In  the  abstract  or  specu- 
lative  part  of  the  professiwj,  I  claim  to  be  the  first  who 
has  reduced  all  vestiture  to  a  primitive  form— an  in- 
tegral  particle,  as  it  were.    I  caft't  dwell  on  this  mat. 
ter  here :  it  might,  perhaps,  be  out  of  pla«e ;  perhaps, 
too,  attributed  in  some  degree  to  that  personal  vanity 
almost  inseparable  from  invention.    I  will  tell  you, 
however,  that  this  discovered  type,  this  radical  nucleus, 
is  the  'bag.'    Thus  a  bag,  or  a  couple  of  parallelc 
gramio  planes  sewed  together,  makes  the  covering  of 
the  trunk.    Similar  bags  of  scarcely  vaiied  proportion 
cover  the  arms  ;  ditto  the  legs ;  ditto  the  hands ;  ditto 
the  head :  thus  going  on,  bags,  bags,  bags,  even  to  the 
fingers ;  a  cytoblastic  operation,  having  interesting  an- 
alogies ydth  the  myceUum  of  the  fungus  or  the  sa«. 
cine  vegetation  of  the  confervas. 

"All  this  is  a  digression,  perhaps ;  yet  I  am  not  the 
first  traveler  whose  breeches  have  figured  in  his  diary 
of  wonders :  you  remember  the  geometrical  artist  of 
=^taputa  who  re-raforoedthe^  wardrobe  of  Mr.  GuUim. 


Land. 


367 


But  to  return  to  less  ambitious  toi)ics.     The  birds,  in 
spite  of  the  increasing  wind,  fly  over  in  numbers,  all 
seeking  the  mjrsterious  north.    What  is  there  at  this 
unreached  pole\to  attract  and  sustain  such  hordes  of 
migratory  life?  i  Since  the  day  before  yesterday,  the 
16th,  ^»re  can  jnaibe.  on  deck  at  any  ho^r,  night  or  day 
-th^y  are  one  jnow— without  seeing  small  bodies, 
rather  groups  than  flocks,  on  their  way  to  the  unknown 
feeding  or  breeding  grounds.     Toward  the  west  the 
field  of  a  telescope  is  constantly  crossed  by  these  de- 
tachments.     The  ducks  are  now  scarjce :  in  fact,  they 
have  been  few  from  the  beginning.     Geese  are  seen 
only  m  the  forenoon  and  early  morning.    The  guille. 
mots,  also,  are  not  so  numerous  as  they  were  two  days 
ago;  but  from  to-day  we  date  the  reappearance  of  the 
Uttle  Auk.    This  delicious  little  pilgrim  is  now  on  his 
way  to  his  far  north  breeding  grounds.     Toward  the 
^pen  lead  the  groups  fly  low,  sometimes  doubtless 
pausing  to  refresh.    At  the  water's  edge  I  shot  five, 
the  first  game  of  the  season ;  and  most  valuable  they 
were  to  our  scurvy  men.    If  this  snow  blindness  per- 
mits  me,  I  hope  to-morrow  to  prove  myself  a  more 
lucky  sportsman. 

''May  19,  Monday.  Jim  Smith,  little  Jim  Smith, 
reported  '  Land.'  We  have  become  so  accustomed  to 
this  great  sameness  of  snow,  that  it  was  hard  to  real- 
ize  at  first  the  magnitude  of  oiir  drift,  dur  last  land 
was  the  spectral  elevation  upreared  in  the  sunset  sky 
of  the  9th  of  February.  The  land  itself  must  have 
been  eighty  miles  ofi".  Our  drift,  although  now  not 
absolutely  fixed  by  observation,  has  probably  carried 
us  to  within  forty  nules,  perhaps  thirty,  of  Cape  Searle. 
Land  it  certainly  is,  shadowy,  high,  snow-covered,  and 
skangfr.    It  is^iaety^nine  days  since  we  looked  at  tfir^ 


-» \ 


368 


CUTTING    OUT. 


lefracted  tops^  the  Lancaster  Bay  headlands,  our  last 

land.  X^  '  ' 

^'May  20,  Tueschiiy.  So  ?now-hlind  that  I  can  bafe- 
ly  see  to  Avrite.  A  gauzy  film  floats  between  me  and 
every  thing  else.  I  have  been  walking  twelve'miles 
upon  the  ice.  No  sun,  but  a  peculiar  misty,  opalescent 
glare.  I  bagged  thirty-three  Auks ;  but  my  snow- 
blindness  avenges  them." 

For  some  days  .after  this  entry  my  snow-blindness 
unfitted  me  for  active  duty.  Several  of  the  officers 
and  men  shared  the  visitation,  Captain  De  Hav^n 
more  severely  than  any  of  us.  My  next  quotation 
from  my  journal  dates  of  the  24th. 

''May  24,  Saturday.  The  ship  shows  signs  of  change, 
grating  a  little  in  her  icy  cradle,  and  rising  at  least 
nine  inches  forward.  The  work  of  removing  the  ice 
goes  on  painfully,  but  constantly.  The  blocks  are  now 
hoisted  with  wilch  and  capstan  by  a  purchase  from 
the  fore-yard ;  the  saw,  of  course,  pioneering.  The 
blocks  when  taken  out  resemble  great  break- water 
stones,  measuring  sometimes  eight  by  six  feet. 

"Thus  far,  by  persevering  labor,  we  have  cut  a  four- 
feet  wide  trench  to  our  starboard  gangway,  a  httle 
vacant  pool  of  six  yards  by  three  in  our  bows,  and  a 
second  ilench  now  reaching  amidships  oi^  our  fore- 

chains. 

"  The  difference  of  level  between  the  deck  at  our 
bows  and  stern  is  still  five  feet  three  inches.  It  is 
proposed  to  launch  the  brig,  as  it  were,  from  her  ice- 
ways.  To  this  purpose  a  screw  jack  is  to  be  appUed 
aft,  and  strong  purchases  on  the  ice  ahead.  The  ex- 
periment will  take  place  this  afternoon.  We  have 
now  been  ^ve  months  and  a  half,  since  the  seventh 
^trf  December,  living  oa  an  inclined  plane  of  about  ona, 
foot  in  sixteen. 


( >■" 


ARCTIC    VOYAGERS. 


3'69 


«10  KM.  The  effort  failed,  as  no  doubt  it  ouglrt 
to  have  done:  we  must  wait  for  the:great  break  up 
to  give  us  an  even  keel.  From  the  liia^t-head  we 
can  see  encroachments  all  around.  The  plains,  oVer 
which  I  chafed  bear  and  shot  at  Auks,  are  now  wa. 

er.  The  floe  IS  reduced  to  its  old  winter  dimensions, 
three  mJes  in  one  diameter,  five  in  the  other.  We 
have  not  yet  reached  the  narrow  passage;  and  the 
wmd,  now  from  the  southward,  seems  to  be  holding 
us  bac^.  Strange  a«  it  sounds,  we  are  in  hopes  of  a  • 
break-up  at  Cape  Walsingham.  =• 

•   "^Tl^/  ^Z^^^'  ^^^^^"^  *  P^^M  gale;  drift 
unpenetrable     By  some  providential  interferenie  the 
wmd  returned  la«t  night  to  its  old  quarter,  the  north- 
west,  a  direction  corresponding  with  the  trend  of  the 
shore.    It  IS  undoubtedly  driving  us  fa^fto  the  south- 
ward,  and  is,  of  all  quarters,  that  most  favorable  to  a  , 
passage  without  disruptibn.    Once  past  Cape  Walsing- 
ham  the  expajsioi|  of  the  bay  is  sudden  and  extensive. 
1^  then  our  floe  ifaaintains  its  integrity  through  the 
strait,  the  rehef  from  pressure  may  ^llow  us  to  con- 
tinue our  drifting  journey.    So  at  least  we  argue.  • 
.      And  just  so.  It  may  be,  others  have  argued  before 
us  about  chances  of  escape  that  never  came:  there 
IS  a  cycle  even  in  the  history  of  adventure.    It  makes 
me  sad  sometimes  when  I  think  of  the  fruitless  la. 
bors  of  the  men  who  in  the  very  olden  times  bar- 
assed  themselves  with  these  perplexing  sea«.     There 
have  been  Sir  John  Franklins  before,  and  searchers 
too,  who  m  searching  shared  the  fate  of  those  th^v 
sought  after.    It  is  good  food  for  thought^ere,  whSe 
1  Mn  of  and  among  them,  to  recall  the  heatt-burnings 
and  the  failures,  the  famishings  and  the  frepzings,  the 


Q 


ent,  unreconted  transitTof' y*  Arctic  voy^eres.' 


!       •»■ 


370 


ARCTIC    VOYAGERS. 


"  Mount  Raleigh,  named  by  sturdy  old  John  Davis 
*  a  brave  mount,  the  cliffes  w^hereof  were  as  orient  as 
golde,'  shows  itself  stUl,  not  so  glittering  as  he  saw 
it  two  hundred  and  sixty-five  years  ago,  but  a  'brave 
mount'  notwithstanding.  No  Christian  eyes  have 
ever  gazed  in  May  time  on  it^  ice-defended  slope,  ex- 
cept our  own.  Yet  there  it  stands,  as  imperishable  as 
the  name  it  bears. 

« I  could  fill  my  journal  with  the  little  histories  of 
this  very  shore.  The  Cape  of  God's  Mercy  is  ahead 
of  us  to  the  west,  as  it  was  ahead  of  the  man  who 
named  it.  The  Meta  Incognita,  further  on,  is  still 
as  unknown  as  in  the  days  of  Frobisher.  We  have 
passed,  by  the  inevitable  coercion  of  ice,  from  the 
highest  regions  of  Arctic  exploration,  the  lands  of 
Parry,  and  Ross,  and  Franklin,  to  the  lowest,  the  seats 
of  the  early  search  for  Cathay,  th6  lands  of  Cabot, 
and  Davis,  and  Baffin,  the  gt&ye's  of  Cortereal,  and 
G^bert,  and  Hudson— all  seekers  after  shadows.  Men 
still  seek  Cathay.''' 


'N^^ 


r^i«SP.-'^^H^ 


-:\- 


=ss<i^!»^*r?r.:!-"  .:^ 


UALS  AT  PLAT. 


CHAPTKR  XLI. 


The  storm  broke  in  the  early  m,,rning  hours.    We 
The  true  beanng  of  the  promiuent  cape  we  supZid 

to  be  b.  630  \V. ;  while  our  observed  position,  by  me- 
ndian  altitude  and  chronometers,  placed  u,  b„t  f 
miles  north  of  Exeter  Bay.  EitherZ„!  the  pl^d! 
H-aT  '  Tb  7,f '"Sham,  or  our  chro^omeLsT, 
at  fault.  This  latter  ,s  probably  the  case ;  for  if  the 
coast  Ime  be  correctly  laid  down  on  the  chart  the 
true  bearing  cted  above,  projected  from  one  present 
parallel  of  latitude,  would  pla«e  „s  thirty-six^ 

„  ^?   pit        °  "  ''''°"*  '"'°  51'.  »  ™fy  few  miles 
north  of  the  projecting  headland,  the  wStera  Gad2 
of  our  strait.     The  character  of  the  land  is  ruS 
and  mhospitable.     Ridges,  offsetting  from  the  hiS 
range,  project  in  spurs  laterally,  creviced  and  wLr!  ■ 
worn,  but  to  seaward  escarped  and  bluff.     Some  of 
these  are  mural  and  precipitous,  of  commanding  height 
The  mam  range  does  not  retire  very  far  from  the  ia 
rt  seems  to  follow  the  trend  of  the  peninsuCand T^t 
probably  on  the  Greenland  shore  k  but  the  abut^^ 

ous.  the  highest,  Mo^nt  Raleigh,  is,  by  my  vasue  es. 
toate,  about  fifteen  hundred  feet  high  ^~= 


Ik 


« 


\ 


-  > 


372 


DRIFT. 


«'  May  27    The  land  is  very  near  to  the  eye ;  but  in 
these  regions  we  have  learned  to  distrust  ocular  meas- 
urements of  distance.     Though  \»re  see  every  wnnkle 
even  to  the  crows'  feet,  on  the  cheeks  of  Mount  Ra- 
leigh,  I  remember  last  year,  on  the  west  coast  of  Green, 
land,  we  saw  Almost  under  our  nose  land  that  was 
thirty.five  miles  ofl^    A  party  from  the  Rescue  meas- 
ured  a' base  upon  the  ice  to-day,  and  attempted  trig- 
onometrical measurements  with  sextant  angles.  They 
make  Cape  Walsingham  seven  miles  distant,  and  the 
height  of  the  peak  at  the  cape  fifteen  hundred  feet. 
Our  observation  places  us  in  latitude  66°  42^  40^;  our 
longitude  by  time  sights,  at  5h.  43m.  P.M.,  was  %^^ 
54'      According  to  the  Admiralty  chart,  this  plants  us 
high  and.dry  among  the  mountains  of  Cape  Walsing. 

*nt  is  evident  that  our  rate  of  drift  has  increased. 

The  northwest  winds  carried  us  forward  eight  miles 

a  day  while  near  the  strait-a  speed  only  equaled  in 

a  few  of  the  early  days  of  our  escape  from  Lancaster 

Sound.    What  has  become  of  all  the  ice  that  used  to 

be  intervening  between  us  and  the  shore?     At  one 

time  we  had  a  distance  of  ninety  miles :  we  are  now 

close  upon  the  coast.    What  has  become  of  it  ?    If  it 

moves  at  the  same  r^aa  we  do,  why  have  we  no 

squeezing  and  commotion  al^is  narrow  strait  ?    Can 

it  be  that  the  ice  to  the  Westward  of  us  has  been  more 

or  less  fixed  to  the^lan^  floe,  and  that  we  have  been 

drifting  down  in  a  race-course,  as  it  were,  an  ice-nver 

whose  banks  were  this  same  shore  ice  ?    Or  is  it,  aa 

Murdaugh  suggests,  "that  the  in-shore  currenl^,  more 

rapid,  have  carried  down  the  in-shore  ice  before  uS, 

thus  widening  the  pathway  for  us?    It  is  certainly 

very  puzzUng  to^flnd  ourselves,  at  the  narrowest 


j/ 


REFRACTION. 


373 


pas«Y,  dose  into  the  W;  ^j  „„  cortimotiin  no 

eacapo  from  our  .mpnsoning,  but-thankfully  I  say 
rt-proteohng  fl«,,  „«  might  ,oon  bo  moving  in  opel 

"May  28,  Wednosday.  The  f«=t  of  the  dayis^he 
station  of  our  iloo.    I„  epite  of  its  irregularLpe  it 
has  rotated  a  complete  circle  within  thf  pa.t  tZi^ 
four  hours.    It  ,s  still  turning  at  the  same  rate,  whed- 
mg  us  down'along  the  in-shore  fields.    The  ^«=„e 
early  this  morning,  was  hetweeS>us  and  theird 

Strange  tht^  no  rapture  takes  place  i 

™,r^1i;  ''';i7^"^f5'•'  '  '"'™  J"'*  !-*«  witnessing 
one  of  the  oddest  of  Arctic  freaks.    We  were  ail  of  m 

Zfr^R";  -T"^  r  *°  ^^g-"*  Mentations  on 
Mount  Kaleigh,  as  the  floe  was  rolling  out  vessels 

otS^T  ^T""^  Wa'-gham,  when  aTfiv 
oclock  in  the  aftefnoon-the  thermometer  at  27°  the 
barometer  at  30.31,  and  the  atmosphere  of  the  usnal 
peariy  opa^escsnce-the  captain,  sweeping  shoterri 

.  welbdefined  figure  projecW  in  front  of  it,  ev  dent  - 
ly  animated  «id  moving.    Murdaugh,  WkiW  afte^ 
Wd,  declared  it  'a  man.'    I  saw  it  next,  I  largl' 

MZa^riSwr?  """  "  •'""*■  «*n>otionles^ 
Murdaugh  took  the  gl«s  again,  and  holding  it  to  his 

,r;2?™  y.  •"«''""'«'' '«  ■n»™s:'  -it  sj^eads  ou 
ifa  arms:" It  IS  a  gigantic  bird!' 

"The  hummock  wa«  within  a  mile  of  us     The 
wonJs  were  hardly  uttered  before  the  object  had  dis 
appeared  arid  the  white  snow.wa.  without  a  spect 
ldisc««u.n  followed.    The  si.e  made  us  at  on^ii^ 


>' 


^ 


,.^ks 


374 


A    BEAB     KILLED. 


jpct  the  bird  idea:  the  shape,  too,  was  that  of  a  cloaki*^ 
covered  man;  the  nwotion,  as  if  he  had  opened  his 
mantle-covered  arms.  Convinced  that  it  was  a  hii- 
man  being,  an  Esquimaux  astray  upon  the  ice,  Mur- 
daugh  and  myself  started  oflF,  nearing  the  hummock, 
with  hearts  full  of  expectation.  The  traces  on  the 
soft  snow  would  soon  solve  the  mystery,  and  remove 
our  only  doubt,  whether  the  Rescues  might  not  be. 

playing  us  a  tridjt.  ,        ^ 

»  Whatever  it  was,  it  either  did  not  perceive  us  &p. 
preaching,  or  was  willing  to  avoid  us ;  for  it  kept  it-' 
self  hidden  behind  a  crag.  Reaching,  however,  the 
spot  where  it  had  stood,  we  found  traces,  coprolitic 
and  recent,  of  a  bird ;  footprints,  as  a  learned  professor 
would  have  said,  of  certain  familiar  animal  processes, 
exaggerated  and  dignified  by  those  of  refraction. 

^^On  returning  to  the  brig,  the  watchers  told  us. 
that  we  had  been  o»|ii4ves  curiously  distorted;  and 
that,  when  perched  6lS  the  little  icy  crag  we  had  gone 
to  scrutinize,  we  lengthened  vertically  into^igantic 
forms,     the  position  of  the  bird,  probably  a  glaucous^J^ 
gull,  had  been  breast  toward  the  brig:  a  vertical  en-   - 
largement,  with  the  white  body  and  moving  wings, 
explained  the  phenomenifti. 

"  The  'Rescues'  had  a  very  large  bear  boverihg 
around  them  all  this  morning. .  At  one  P.M.  We  came 
within  reach  of  a  carefuUy-prepared  a^^fej^®^®!^" 
ing  four  out  of  a  haJ|4ozen  balls,  a  n'M^^^  in- 
creased  to  nine.  You  may  have  ^^^^SSSf^^t^' 
perb  tenacity  of  life  of  this  beast,  whenTlmi  yoiTthat 
he  ran,  thus  perforated,  with  his  skull  broken  and  his 
shoulder  shivered,  tie  even  attempted  a  charge,  ut- 
inffa  hissing  sound,  ejaculated  by  sudden  impulse,- 
f  ^^Mbwfeg  of  a  whalej'^to  use  Captain  Griffin's 


/ 


I' 


HABITS    OP:a    SEa*L. 


375 

the  »g5jj^tricke„°  hl^*-    ^'"'*  "  8'»"o»«  feed  for 
■^-  I'^efiMttime.wehadaTide.madeevi^' 

:-  tQ«.»th,  against  the  sun.  bat  n^  Zu^^w""  """1 

in  number,  and  verv  oftiitinna     w        ^"^X  are  lew 

ja^ariaM^^eleotJo^rrforThe-tlli:^^^^ 
they-never  leave  it  more  ihan  a  few  len^h/   ThJ 

e^ie  a  p^^:7""  ""!  'K,*^^-^  Poking  t^^t 

"  J^  first  act  of  a  seal,  after  emanrin^  ;,,  .        ^  . 
™nrey  of , his  limited  horiz«r  fS  ^uZ"! 

::i::.tSdorrTh*"«^^^^""^- 


^ 


> 


376 


SEAL    HUNTING. 


( 


*% 


allied  to  sweeping ;  brushing  nervously,  as  if  either  to 
rub  something  from  himself  or  from  beneath  him. 
Then  comes  a  complete  series  of  attitudes,  stretchmg, 
collapsing,  curling,  wagging;  then  a  luxurious,  bask- 
ving  rest,  with  his  face  toward  the  sun  and  his  tail  to 
his  hole.  Presently  he  waddles  oflF  about  two  of  his 
own  awkward  lengths  from  his  retreat,  and  begins  to 
roll  over  and  over,  pawing  in  the  most  ludicrous  man- 
ner  into  the  empty  air,  stretching  and  rubbing  his 
glossy  hide  like  a  horse.  He  then  recommences  his 
vigil,  basking  in  the  sun  with  uneasy  alertness  for 
hours.  At  the  slightest  advance,  up  goes  the  prymg 
head.  One  searching  glance  ;  and,  wheeling  on  his 
tail  as  on  a  pivot,  he  is  at  his  hole,  and  descends  head 

foremost. 

«'  I  have  watched  so  many  without  success,  that  to- 
night I  determined  to  try  the  Esquimaux  plan— pa- 
tience  and  a  snow-screen.  This  latter,  the  easier  por- 
tion  of  the  fonnula,  I  have  just  returned  from  complet- 
ing ;  it  was  a  mile's  walk  and  an  hour's  snow-shovel- 
ing.'  The  ot^er,  the  patience,  I  attempt  to-morrow, 
'  squat  like  a  toad'  on  the  ice  for  an  unknown  series 
Of  hours,  With  the  sun  blistering  my  nose,  and  bUnk- 
ing  my  eyes  the  while ;  a  sort  of  sport  so  much  Uke 
fishing,  that  it  ought  to  be  reserved  for  the  Piscators 
ofour  Schuylkill  Club. 

"  The  walk  over  the  snow  to-night  was  very  delight- 
ful. The  opalescence,  so  painful  to  the  eyes,  had  giv- 
en place  to  a  clear  atmosphere ;  and  the  low  sun  was 
full  of  rich  coloring.  Land,  too,  that  pleasing  repre- 
sentative of  the  world  we  are  cut  off  from,  was  refract- 
ed into  grotesque  knolls  and  long  spires. 

"  The  surface  of  the  floes  shows  more  and  more  the 
-  Uiawing  influenee^  d^oar^Miai  BOW  half  as  high,  atme^ 


>« 
'--v- 


INFILTRATION    OP    SALT    WATER.  377 

ridian  as  in  the  torrid  7nn«  i    Tk«  •         «.  . 
fi^H«.ir  «roo    ^'' "'"***.  2:one!    The  immediate  surface 
to.day  wa^  often  entire,  though  we  plunged  ahntS 
knee-deep  m  water hfilnur ,•<•     an.*       i'*"^K«"  aunost 

derstend  wheH tl^yoTthat  ZT"  ^"^  ^'^'^^  ""■ 
Mill  a«v«  f«,^  ^       ^*  *"®  thermometer  in  the 

sun  gave,  for  four  successive  hours  to-dav  fl"^moo«  v 
nearlv  80°     Thix  oi,-<«      xi.      """  ro-aay,  a  mean  of 

«irough  which  it  has  descended     0.,r  r^L    7 
^  oflate  has  varied  buUUtletwrn^a^^S 
27°  for  any  twenty-four  hours. 

"The  infiltration  of  saline  water  through  the  ice  a.. 
mis  the  process  of  disintegration.     The  waflr  fl      a 
by  surface  or  sun  thaw  if  hv  fhl  J^^^.^**«'/o"ned 
action  whir-h  T  »^i        T^'  ^  *^®  peculiar  endcimitic 
aouon  which  I  believe  I  have  mentioned  elsewhere 
at  once  rendered  salt,  as  was  evident  froni  Baum^' 
hydrometers  and  the  test  of  the  nitrate  ofTver     The 
surface  crust  bore  me  readily  this  eveninrat  a  tl 
^^e  of  210  ^  190,  ,i,4^,  evS;  Aw 
Beneatii  for  two  inches,  it  was  crisp  and  fresh     I* 
'  j^ ''  ^"^''•'  °"**^i^  ^^refully  with  my  winife 

S^r'  *T  t  *?^  ^^^^  *^«l^«'  salt-water  pa«te 
On  he  other  hand,  all  my  observations,  and?h^^e 
made  a  great  many,  prove  to  me  Uiat  oo  d,  if  inteZ 
enough,  wiU,  by  its  unaided  action,  indepenctent  o7 
Ztr"'  "''If  *^^^*'  ^«P^"di"«f  ^siS  or  even 


The  drift  i»  wmei^artolhe  ea8twaTd:^^The~ 


^w*i'--tH- v-:^*^.^.-.'..,  ..;^ 


378 


SUMMARY. 


tables  were  heaping  up  actively,  and  the  chewing 
process  of  demolition  was  in  full  energy  among  them. 
I  have  some  hope  that  the  action  may  extend  itself  to 
the  core  of  our  veteran  flob-oircle ;  but  for  the  present 
it  is  confined  to  those  peripheral  adjuncts  that  have 
grown  up  around  it  in  more  recent  freezings.  A  bird's- 
eye  view  from  the  mast-head,  corrected  by  my  walks, 
enables  me  to  map  out  its  present  shape  with  consid- 
erable accuracy." 

The  "  month  of  roses"  closed  on  us  without  ad- 
venture ;  but  its  last  ten  days  were  full  of  monitory 
changes.  The  increased  temperature  had  been  visibly 
acting  upon  the  ice,  softening  down  its  rough  angles,  ^ 
and  reducing  bowlders  to  mere  knobs  on  the  surface; 
its  weary  monotony  becoming  every  day  only  more 
disgusting.  From  the  1st  to  the  19th  we  had  drifted 
almost  a  hundred  miles,  and  had  been  expecting  daily 
to  make  the  eastern  shore,  when  land  was  reported 
ahead.  ,JIfe  proved  to  be  the  Highlands  around  Cape 
Searle,'^about  thirty-five  miles  ofl". 

It  was  the  first  inbreak  upon  our  desolate  circle  of 

ice  and  water  that  we  had  experienced  in  ninety-nine 

days.     The  hundredth  gave  us  a  complete  range  of 

dreary,  snow-covered  hills ;  but  to  men  whose  last  rec 

oUections  of  terra  firma  were  connected  wjth  the  re- 

fracted  spectres  that  followed  us  eighty  miles  from 

shore,  just  one  hundred  days  since,  the  solid  certainty 

of  mountain  ridges  was  inexpressibly  grateful.    We 

studied  their  phases,  as  we  flrew  nearer  to  them,  with 

an  intentness  which  would  have  been  ludicrous  under 

different  circumstances :  every  cranny,  every  wrinkle 

spoke  to  us  of  movement,  of  a  relation  with  the  shut- 

out  world.    Our  drift  which  brought  us  thisblesaed 

"^netywas  favored  by  an  unusual  prevalence  of  uu^th- 


i,.: 


, ,. :™^-..»— il.«»^.»vi^^— • 


VP"V 


SUMMARY. 


379 


westerly  winds.    We  ma4e  in  the  t^irty-one  dav«  nf 

n«)idtran.«-.„  !f  expenenomg  at  tUs  time  the 

^n'+7o  M'    r5,*J  "'"^'^  ■»""«•.  April,  had 
oeen  +7°  96';  that  of  IJay  was  20=  22'_a  different 

of  newly  twelve  depee,.    At  the  same  time,  there  w« 

^i'J^f  ^^  ""^  ^^'  '"ok  ^0  ^  not  known 
under  the  deep,  perpetual  frosts  of  winter.    Coldth^ 

.»en.od  a  tangible,  palpable  something,  whioh-we  wuu 

While  warmth,  a.  an  opposite  condition,  wa.  leaUzo. 
be  and  apparent.  Bnt  here,  in  temperkture.  S 
at  some  honrs  were  really  oppressing  60=  t.  aTo  in 
the  Btth,  and  with  a  Polar  altitude  of  4So  one  half  tl^ 
equatori-U  maximum,  we  had  the  anomalyrfaMl 
jMomfort  from  cold.  I  know  that  hyBTomeMT™!^ 
i^ons  »d  extreme  daUy  fluctuations  KrCnZi 
eter  expl«j  much  of  this;  but  it  wa,  impo»iibrfor 

De  a  physiologjoal  cause  more  powerful  than  either. 

bnds.   They  were  most  welcome  visitors.    Crowds  of 
htt  e  snowbird,  {Embem.  and  P&cfropWWift 

™w"1:^"i;  '"^  '^'^-  -"o  "^aoted  iv  the 

garbage  which  the  thaw  had  reproduced  around  u. 


tfieif  unexpected  store-house.    Some  of  the  larger 


380 


SUMMARY. 


birds,  too,  were  with  us,  returning  to  the  mystenous 
North ;  the  anatinae,  represented  by  the  eiders  {Soma- 
teria),  followed  by  two  of  the  uria  genus,  the  grylle 
and  the  alke.  We  recognised  the  latter  as  oUr  Uttle 
fat  friend  of  last  summer,  and  gave  him  treatment  ac^ 
cordmgly.  I  shot  thirty-three  in  one  day,  which  my 
mess-mates  made  up  to  sixty. 

The  characteristic  disease  of  May  waa  the  snow- 
bUndness,  severe  and  acute,  leaving  with  some  of  us  a 
disturbed,  uncertain  state  of  vision  far  from  pleasmg. 
The  remedy  most  eflfective  was  darkness.  A  disk  of 
hard  wood,  with  a  simple  slit,  admitting  a  narrow  pen- 
.  cil  of  light,  we  found  a  better  protection  than  the  gp^. 
gle  or  colored  lens ;  the  increased  sensibUity  of  the  ret- 
ina seeming  to  require  a  diminution  of  the  quantity 
rather  than  a  modification  of  the  character  of  the  ray. 
The  slightest  automatic  movement  varied,  of  course, 
the  sentient  surface  aflfected  by  the  impression. 


••».,. 


M 


HDMIIOCK  rORMIO  MAIOR  S3,  1831. 


CHAPTER  XLH. 


As  we  ne^red  the  narrow  Straits  of  Davis,  our  ex- 
pectations  of  disruption  and  liberation  underwent  many 
changes.    All  our  ipasonings  seemed  to  be  negatived 
by  the  results.    We  were  the  illustration  of  powerless 
ignorance;  what  we  hoped  for  one  day,  we  congratu- 
lated  ourselves  that  we  had  escaped  the  next.    We 
were  rotating  on  the  disk  of  a  great  wheel,  with  a  rag. 
ged  and  constantly  changing  periphery.     Our  position 
on  this  was  eccentric,  and  our  rate  of  motion  variable, 
as  the  obstructions  which  our  ice-field  encountered 
made  it  revolve  on  one  or  another  axis.    We  felt  that 
our  prison  could  not  retain  its  integrity  much  longer 
against  the  diversified  agencies  that  were  assailing  it: 
beyond  this  we  scarcely  framed  a  conjecture. 

It  was  evident  that  other  changes  more  constant, 
and  probably  more  effective  than  those  of  disruption, 
were  taking  pla<5e  in  the  great  plain  around  us.  The 
snowy  erast  began  to  ytdd-nader  mt  feetfirad  thr^ 


yiia^i^i  '4-41 L : 


38 


REVIEW. 


hummock  ridges,  which  had  so  long  hristled  in  every 
<^ection,  were  losing  their  sharpness  or  hending  hefore 
tne  sunshines  We  had  seen  this  great  field  grow  up 
from  the  hosom  of  the  ocean;  and,  traveling  hack  in 
/memory,  it  seBmed  hut  a  few  days  since  our  sails 
'swelled  useless  against  the  mast,  as  this  ominous  and 
unyielding  .Carrier  closed  us  in. 

What  hetter  type  can  we  have  of  the  universal  prin- 
ciple of  change  than  this  solid  immensity  of  varied  ice, 
only  three  months  ago  a  quiet  liquid  sea,  and  now 
resolving  itself,  under  the  resistless  action  of  natural 
causes,  into  its  normal  element!  The  destructive  and 
conservative  energies,  those  great  powers  of  displace- 
ment and  renewal  which  sustain  the  equilihrium  of 
the  glohe,  may  he  seen,  in  an  humhle  yet  impressive 
scale,  in  the  formation,  growth,  increase,  degradation, 
and  departure  of  this  icy  terra.firma.  •  The  geological 
analogies  eochihited  hy  the  changes  in  the  configura- 
tion  of  this  pack — changes  involving  the  nohlest  dy- 
namic  forces,  as  well  as  thos^  slower  actions  now  oper-  • 
ating  upon  the  crust  of  our  iearth— woy^d  form  a  vol- 
ume for  the  comprehensive  record  of  Von  Buch  or  Mur- 
ohison. 

Instead  of  sea  aud  land,  the  two  great  reciprocat- 
ing agents  and  subjects  of  geological  change,  if  for 
a  moment  you  read  sea  and  ice,  hosts  of  analogies 
come  crowding  upon  you,  which,  even  to  an  unedu- 
cated observer  like  myself,  assitnilate  the.  theoretical 
genesis  of  the  one  to  the  practical  eye-seen  growth  of 
the  other.  The  conversion  of  sea  into  ice,  and  of  ice 
to  sea,  the  excavation  of  valleys,  the  degradation  of 
hills,  the  transfer  of  materialrto  other  unkindred  sur- 
faces, the  transition  from  dry  ice-fields  to  marshes  im- 
-pregnated  with  salt^»the  Miomalous  influences  of  cur. 


^  a  fj.   ,1^  i 


FORMINO    ICE. 


-^3' 


rents  and  winds,  and  the  final  depravation  of  crystal- 
line  structure,  Are  maxshaled  with  forces  of  upheaval 
and  depression  the  synclinal  and  aiiticlinal  axes  which 
chaxaxjterize  the  splendid  dynamics  of  ice  in  motion. 

I  intended,  when  I  hegan  to  arrange  this  narra- 
tive  to  ofier  my  ice-notes  as  a  contribution  to  the 
Smithsonian  pubhcations.     But  a  new  duty  is  before 

Tat  T  b  T^  u  It'  ^"^  ''  "^^  P«^*^^P«  ^«  -«  ^vell 
that  I  should  hold  them  ba^k,  till  the  experience  of  a 

northern  winter  or  two  shall  have  enabled  me  to  test 
the  conclusions  which  they  point  to.  For  the  present 
I  content  myself  with  a  mere  resume.  My  immedi- 
ate subject  IS  the  growth  of  the  pack 

On  the  twelfth  of  September,  while  attempting 
with  a  free  top-gallant  breeze  to  make  our  way  to  the 
east,  the  thermometer  indicating  a  mean  daily  tern- 
perature  of  +14°  or  18°  below  tjie  freezing  point,  the 
sea  was  observed  to  gradually  thicken  around  us.  A 
paaty  sludge,  formed  of  crystals  broken  up  by  the  ac- 
tion of  the  waves,  began  to  resolve  itself  into  those 
polyhedral  plajes  described  by  Scoresby  under  the 
name  ol  pancake  ice. 


•LDDal. 


'AHCAn. 


••k*."*- 


As  the  wind  moreased,  these  were  roUed  into  act- 
ual  spheroids ;  their  forces  being  regulated  by  the 
J^LEkck^centrol^uaUy  compressed  spheres,  giv^ 


^'-v 


'i  ' 


384 


HEVIEW. 


ing  rise  to  a  rudely  pentagonal  arrangement  not  un- 
like a  tesselated  pavement.    To  such  an  extent  had 


this  increased  by  the  night  of  the  13th,  that  we  lost 
all  power  of  progress. 

When  morning  opened  around  us,  we  found  our- 
selves in  the  midst  of  a  great  area  of  five-sided  tiles, 
marked  at  their  lines  of  juAction  by  a  slightly  uplift- 


ed  ridge :  this  would  already  bear  a  man.  From  this 
moment  unl^  the  date  of  our  escape,  nine  months 
after,  our  sails  were  without  use;  and  our  move, 
ments,  as  well  as  our  destinies,  were  regulated  by 
our  ice-jailer.  By  the,  20th  of  October,  the  floe  un- 
mediately  about  us  waa  twenty  inches  thick;  and  it 
had  so  interlocked  iteelf  with  other  ice-fields  of  differ- 
ent  diameters,  that  to  the  eye  it  became  a  part  of  a 
great  plain,  terminated  only  by  the  headlands  of  the 
shores,  and  a  narrow  water-channel  which  separated 
=="^n8  Iromtfaem.      — ^:= 


~\. 


HUMMOCKINQ. 


38S 


f 


to  mas8  infiltrated  with  Jt  i  .  ^'?™'  'P'"?''' 
such  that  it  c^^MeTa'dtblS .^1'"^''"^ 
under  pressure,  which  .„„M  oth:^!*:;!*™™ 

ness,  and  a  spUntel  1^  ^  °^°'*  ^^t^  hard- 
h»ri;„ntal  Ze  Zill  "  "*  "^'"  »"«'«'  *«  '*» 
Pletely  fre.r»d.  wht  CteZil^  ^^trl'^  T' 
gave  not  the  alijhtert  discoloratton  "'™''' 

millTdtrVr*^'?""^  "'  "  »«»  «"«  «f  twelve 
■mles  a  day,  throogh  a  channel  compressed  hv  fk! 
salient  projection  of  the  slinro  t\.  7^™?"®'*''  "y  the 

ofouri^isruptionso™'   The        """^  '■'"^'" 
detraction    ™'  "'  ""*  "  '''^  »f  immediate 


1  .,  — '■""•**ooo  auu  iniies  in  diAmA 

"*»*  *ti»».arginal  fines.    The  pure^ 


386 


EEVIEW. 


surface  of  the  snow  lemttins  unohanged.^  Presently, 
rthfn  some  particular  zone,  determined  by  cause, 
^  t^  be  ente«d  into  here,  you  see  a  shght  cnmping, 
?dlowed  by  a  dotted  or  Petersham-doth  appearance 
on  tl«  ice  This  U  foUovre^  again  very  rapidly  by  a 
multitude  of  taahsverse  ridges  or  *»™;  J.*"*  "T,,^' 
the  first  time  you  become  conscious  of  a  sharp,  hum. 

^"^cttlttrrover  the  level  fl^^oN 

minute  ago-and  you  will  see  that  on  each  «de  of 

Z  there  is  a  descent,  and  that  the  descendin^8«r. 

]Z  is  curved.    The  snow  is  in  motum  an4.««all 

toures  fly  over  it  in  every  direction,  but  pnncpaMy 

pLallel  tithe  lines  of  pressure.    The  noises  now  W 

Lme  mingled  with  reports,  not  loud  butpro'^IJ. 

like  breaking  the  crust  of  a  giant  loaf  of  bread     Sud. 

denly  the  liies  of  snow-fiSsures  op^n  mto  wedge-hke 

diasL    Now  run  for  it,  withou^ppmg  to  qu^ 

t^;  you  have  been  standing  airthi,  time  m  the 

very  centre  of  a  forming  hummock. 


•^ 


As  you  run,  loud  explosions,  accompanied  by  a 
wMrring  as  of  spinningiennies,  and  a  whmmg  a^^^ 
young  puppies,  bring  you  up;  and^ming,  yon  we^ 


■l^' 


HUMMOCKINO. 


387 


^.Si,~ 


the  floe  slowly  part  in  the  middle,  the  lines  of  pre- 
viou#  marked  Wres  rise  up  into  gigantic  tables. 
Tables  of  one  8idt^of,po8e  those  of  the  otheV,  and  th^ 
margins  of  the  floes  from  which  they  have  arisen  are 
pressing  on  with  renewed  energies  to  fill  up  the  par- 
tal  vacancy.  Tables  become  more  and  more  perpen- 
diculax;  the  edges  beneath  meet  again,  grind,  fight 


reax  tiiemselves  mto  fresh  tebles,  thrusting  over  those 
firsfr  formed.  New  cracks  ren^  the  level  ice.  New 
curves  fall  mto  tahular  masses;  ajid  thu^  in  a  few 
minutes  the  tranquil  surface  of  frozen  snow  is  cSver- 
ed  by  fra^ent^jy  barriers,  grander  and  more  massive 
than  the  Pharaomc  rubbish  of  the  Ramesium 

Difierences  of  resistance  along  the  margin  of  the 
floes,  owing  to  irregularities  in  their  lines  of  junction, 
give,  of  course,  every  irregularity  conceivable  to  this 
action;*  a.id  it  is  only  after  it  ha^  continued  suffi. 
ciently  long  to  break  all  protruding  edges,  that  the 
axis  of  the  hummock  approximates  io  a  right  line 
My  sections  exhibit  great  diversity  in  this;  but  we 
learned,  by  the  direction  of  tlie  forceg  and  the  chara«. 


388 


REVIEW. 


ter  of  our  floes,  to  determine  pretty  accurately  before- 
hand the  type  of  the  Approa«3|ing  l^uijimock. 

SometimeV a  hummock  is  as  coWete*  jumble  of 
confused  tables  ^as  if  Titans  Had  lieen  emptying  rub- 
bish  caxts  of  marble  upon  the  flo^. ,  ^^^^^^'  ^H 
are  so  crumbled  by  the  excessive  ^on.  that  they  « 
like  crushed  sugaf,  and;  again,  I  have  seen  neatly, 
squared  blocks^piled  regularly  ohe.  above  the  other  in 
a  Cyclopean  wall.   ^ 


These  pressures  sometimes  develop  grotesque  and 
singular  forms.  .  One  of  the  most  simple,  an  arch,  of 
ice  four  feet  in  thickness,  bridging  a  fissiire  is  pictare^ 

ht^aUy.in  a  fonner"  ^h^Efe^  Jt^^^LTr 
daugh,  pointed  out  to  me  two  nawow  tahles  forffiing 


ATMOSPHEBIC    DEPOSITS.  389 

the  gable.end.and  the  roof  of  a  house.    I  am  sorrv  I 
have  lost  the  sketch.  I  made  of  them 

Onoe  well  on  in  November,  while  walking  toward 
Barlows  Inlet  with  old  Blinn,  we  came  to  a  cross 
perched  on.a«,u„ded  dune,  and  sonorous  whenstruck ; 
«d  I  remember,  long  after  day  had  returned  to  us 
unng  some  of  my  waJks  «po„  the  floes,^mihg  to  a 
httle  grave-yard  of  ice-tablets.  They  needed  L  in! 
MTiption  to  record  that  winter  had  been  Th«  tw„ 
,  etches  that  follow  are  of  one  of  these  monumenr 
fteseoonddrawing  shows  the  actipu  of  gravity  on  the 
bl^k^rsomeweeksofex^ure.   ItfasmJre^t 


It  wil  readily  be  seen  that  these  actions,  renew. 
«i  at  intervals  throughout  many  months,  wZTZ 
»aWly  ehange  the  topography  of  our  i  e  "unt^ 
h  fact  although  I  have  compared  the  primary  aSd 
elemental  forms  of  ea«h  floe  ^  parts  of  a  SaW 
paTement,  our  great  ice-field  w^  one  vlaT^^ 
»a  confused  mosaicwork.  composed  of  itfieSs™' 
Afferent  ag^  and  thicknesses,  and  marked  at  thrir 

iir'""  "'  """'^  "''"'  of  cually-varying 

»ms  m  these  Arctic  regions  to  take  the  pla^  of  a 
™!«jl??ctJU«cli«teli<m.wMiad.iio  snow  u^hh^ 
CTSovember.    Then  we  had  those  fine,  dt^U^ 


^■ 


^ 


C.Ji> 


\ 


390 


REVIEW. 


snows,  which,  at  low  temperatures  and  in  times  of  high 
wind,  were  h^dly  distinguishable  from  the  driftinga 
of  former  snow-fields.  It  was  not  until  our  clo^ng 
month,  with  one  exception,  that  the  snow  fell  in  the 
familiar  flakes  of  home.  All  these  tended  to  modify 
the  aspect  of  our  surface,  rounding  oflf  edges,  and  fill. 
ing  up  interstitial  cavities ;  while  those  frozen  vesicles, 
with  modifications  of  the  hexagon  form,  which  I  have 
alluded  to  as  accompanying  our  parheUa«  and  coronal 
phenomena,  also  contributed  their  share. 

Thus,  then,  we  continued  driflmg  toward  the  south, 
sharing  the  movements  of  the  icy  system  of  which  we 
were  the  centre,  and  only  conscious  of  motion  by  the 
observation  of  that  greater  system  which  shone  out 
above  us.    With  March  came  a  renewal  of  the  ice- 
openings,  and  animal  life,  so  long  suspended,  came 
back  to  us.     The  first  bird  seen  was  a  diver  (C.  Sep. 
tentrionalis),  still  in  his  winter  plumage.    On  the  same 
day  we  saw  several  seal.    As  the  openings  increased 
to  rivers,  and  began  to  permeate  the  great  pack  more 
thoroughly,  the  narwhal  and  beluga,  an4,  in  two  in- 
stances,  the  mysticetus,  or  right  whale  of  the  whalers, 
began  to  resort  to  them.    The  Laridae,  represented 
by  the  ivory,  kittiwake,  and  the  Burgomaster  gulls, 
screamed  over  the^floes.    Our  old  friends,  the  moUe- 
mokes,  fed  once  inore  upon  the  garbage  around  the 
vessels.    The  predatory  jager  (Lestris  parasitica)  soon 
joined  them.    Bears  stalked  about  in  numbers,  a«com. 
panied  by  their  satellites,  the  white  foxes. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  first  renewal  of  migratory  lif?, 

as  seen  in  that  famiUar  Uttle  frijigUUde,  the  snow- 

bird.   In  company  with  the  Plectrophanes,  they  crowd- 

— €d  Mound  otg^bips^  f^t  a  very  gaily,  day ;  but  it  waa^ 


only  in  the  second  week  of  May  that  the  great  W 


!  ••  iV    .,.W.      Ai>«C&t   1  """^i^ 


INPILTIATIOK    0?    SALT. 


391 


L3t    .'°*"y '"S*"-    The  air  was  checkered 

«.<!  Somaterus  the  auks  and  the  eiders,  flew  over  us 
m  oontinuous  crowds. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  the  floe,  which  liad  so  lone 
teen  our  homesi^ad,  began  to  show  symptoms  oZ 
My.    The  mean  thickness  of  our  pack-the  mean  of 

ssrr;'*r"^''*''*'""^«''«<'«''t7ee° 

alfliough  the  ice-tables  were  in  some  cases  «>  tlirust 

even  tlurty  feet.  Our  great  pack  probably  extended 
ma  contiguous  Une  from  Lancaster  So  Jd  toCape 
W.Jsmgham,w.th  abreadth  of  not  less  than  two  hu^S! ., 

J-  iTw  i'"»'«*°K  *»  »'»«'ve  the  compensations  bv 
which  Nature  got  rid  of  this  vast  accumulation.  The 
«mple  effect,  of  solar  heat,  whether  from  the  atn^^s! 
phere  above  or  the  heated  currents  below,  do  not  sat 

^ta  ml""'",  *J: '""""'«°" °f  *>■" '-  Chan^^ 
m  It,  mechanical  straoture  evidently  took  place  ore- 

P«mg  the  way  for  the  subsequent 'actions' o^haw 
My  attention  was  first  called  to  this  fact  by  hearing 
ftrou^h  my  friend,  Ueutenant  Brown,  that  L  o^l 
^ry  of  Sir  James  Bos,  at  Leopold  Island  was  moist 
»«d  saggy,  while  ttie  outsid,  ice  remained  dry  and 
to.  In  the  month  of  May,  while  our  mean  temper, 
.tore  was  still  below  the  freezing  point,  I  noticed,  dur- 

ZrhL"^  °™;  '^  '"•"»*  '^'^  snrface-koe  , 
»toh  had  been  during  the  winter  hard  and  fresh 
begM  to  yield  under  me  as  I  walked,  and  gave  a 
decidedly  bractuh  taste  to  the  palate.  The  ice,  too, 
m  many  case,  lost  ite  tenacity  and  resUtance.  Ou; 
coal,  which  had  been  thrown  out  loosely  on  it,  so  de^ 


|H»»ed  Uie  Uttie  area  around  it.  ii  to  be  surmund^ 


i; 


r,*."*»w.*»..^„  . 


— ».-v-v* 


-''-^.7f$*'^ 


392 


REVIEW. 


by  water;  and  some  of  the  larger  hummocks,  whose 
colossal  blocks  had  attracted  my  attention  during  the 
winter,  were  now  wet  and  marshy  to  approach.  Upon 
excavating  blocks  of  ice  with  the  saw  and  pickaxe,  it 
was  found,  in  many  case^,  to  have  lost  its  well-con- 
densed character.  It  was  divided  by  vertical  lines 
into  prisms,  which  stood  prominently  out,  and  ran 
continuously  from  the  watery  to  the  atmospheric  sur- 
face, with  an  arrangement  almost  basaltic* 

Struck  by  this  circumstance,  I  was  led  to  test  the 
ice  of  different  localities  by  both  the  Marcet's  bottle 
and  the  nitrate  of  silver,  and  discovered  that  the  floes, 
which  had  formed  in  midwinter  at  temperatures  be- 
low -30,  were  still  fresh  and  pure,  while  the  floes  of 
slower  growth,  or  of  the  early  and  late  portions  of  the 
season,  were  distinctly  salin«.  Indeed,  ice  which  only 
two  months  before  I  had  eaten  with  pleasure,  was  now 
so  salt  that  the  very  snow  which  covered  it  was  no 
longer  drinkable. 

This  is  a  subject  well  worthy  of  future  examina. 
tion.  The  dissolution  of  the  great  ice-fields  of  the 
Polar  regions  bears  upon  physical  questions  of  the 
highest  importance;  and  it  really  seems  to  me  thai; 
changes,  independent  of  expansion  and  contraction, 
must  take  place  in  the  moleoulaf  oondition  of  the  ic« 
at  temperatures  greatly  below  the  freezing  point. 

Another  element  in  the  disintegration  of  the  floes, 
of  which  this  was  but  a  preliminary  process,  struck 
me  forcibly  a  little  later  in  the  season.  The  invasion 
of  the  capillary  struotnre  of  the  ice  by  salt  water  from 
below  would  act,  both  chemically  and  mechanically 
in  destroying  its  struotore ;  but  I  am  led  to  believe 

•  I  am  happy  to  find  Unes  mj  retani.  that  this  baaaltio  arrangement  of  the 
^rBeronWtewt^wby  Sir  John  RiehaBleeB.       - —         -  =y 


X" 


.*-.^^,.— -^^y-v.*.^-. 


-''-^*i** 


V4I1IED  STUttCTCRE   OP  ploEs.  393 

lorces  allied  to  endoemosis  are  called  into  olav     i 
ice     Wh«r.  H,^  .  dependent  portions  of  our 

i;ri™a^L'rn7erntTttT"rH  r*«' 

ofde..„„tionwenrTwl'trdeepd:rAf 
ftough  our  mean  temperature  was  greaUy  beW  tte" 

would  renderMI  „  nn'^tfe"''  f  TiVT  ''''*  """y' 
thrust  nearly  throu^hThTi^^  J  ,,^;t^-;^,^^^^ 

tions,  except  that  of  a  membraneous  interspace  which 

.i  .,  J-      •         "'"*>  *"<•  an  mtermediate  structn™ 
sboundmg  m  capillary  ducts  "structure    • 

The  presenting  face  of  the  hummocks,  approaching 

.ari^lt  to  i     "*''"'°  "^'  "^'•'^  »»"  i  ""'l  thei^ 
aaes  begin  to  thaw  m  oonsequencff.  while  «.«  ™™ 

horizontal  floe,  remam  unchanled :  anlL  ft«^  h"? 

ta  thev'l"''""'*""'  ""''  "f  P-"~ent: 
»ZltI  "tr"  P'T"^  *»  Income  those  of  first 

W:m  cemrti'r  "^  ""'*  ""^"^  ^-«  '-^ 

Before  pawing  from  these  causes  of  disinteirratioi, 

»d  destouction  in  the  p«,k,  I  would  refer^ata  to  he 

feet  whioh  I  have  mentioned  already  of  U.  LL  . 

SS'Il°:r^°""'^  oftoblesJf  V  J„^£! 

^«raiWerre;^en  subjected  to  mechanical  ptessuT 

28 


394 


REVIEW. 


whether  by  the  action  of  currents  and  winds,  or  of  pro- 
truding  headlands,  must  present  throughout  its  entire 
area  a  varying  momentum  and  resistance.  ^This,  in 
connectibn  with  the  fact  of  the  hummock  ridges  or 
lines  of  junction  being  the  soonest  to  give  way,  will 
explain  the  facility  with  which  this  great  pa«k  yields 
to  assailing  forces  from  without.  »> 

I  believe  I  have  adverted  already  to  another  most 
interesting  and  beautiful  provision  of  nature  to  prevent 
the  reconsolidation  of  the  ice  after  it  has  been  once 
broken  up  during  the  seasons  of  thaw.  Fragmentary 
masses,  which  were  fast  cemented^ring  tl|e  winter 
to  the  under  surface  of  the  floe,  now  rise  through  the 
water,  interposing  themselves  between  the  opening 
tables,  and  acting  as  checks  or  wedges  to  jreVent  their 
reapposition  and  cementation. 

By  such  impressive  compensations  d^les  i^ature  ef- 
'fect  the  eiluUibrium  of  the  year.  In  a  short  ftjid  irreg- 
ularly.graduated  season,  this  great  ice-raft,  thigrowth 
of  nine  months  of  congelation,  is  returned  to  ^ater  by 
means  almost  independent  of  thaw,  and  resilmes  its 
office  of  tempering  the  climates  of  the  distant  south. 
As  the  views  I  have  detaUed  in  this  chapter^  of  the 
causes  which  effect  the  final  disintegration  of  the  pack  . 
may  perhaps  be  novel,  I  venture  to  recite  them  in  the 
form  of  a  summary. 

First.  Changes  in  the  ^^loleoular  condition  <>f  the 
ice  at  temperatures  below  the  freezing  point,  ^ving 
rise  to  infiltration  of  salt  water  and  rapid  decoiftpQsi. 
tion  of  the  ice  in  consequence. 

Second.  A  greater  intensity  of  this  action,  oinng 
to  the  infraposition  and  superposition  of  two  fluids  of 
differing  denaities,  inducing  a  rapid  circulation  a|i'-» 


to  endosmosis. 


-II 


SUMMARY. 


395 


Third.  The  facile  disruption  induced  by  transmit- 
ted  forces  throughout  a  plain  of  varying  diameter  and 
resistance. 

Fourth.  The  softenings  Bown  of  humrfiock  ridges 
the  Imes  of  previous  junction.  * 

Fifth.  The  interposition  of  floating  fragments  or 
calves,  preventing  their  reconsolidation. 


.   A 


BRODBD  BIBa. 


'  r 


TOPOOBAPHT  OF  THB  FLOE,  MAY  31.     , 

B  D    Shorter  diameter,  SJ  mue«. 
t"  wlLT'  C  C.  Longer  diameter,  5i  mUe.. 

S     '      Di-tance  bet^-'the  ve«el.,  MO  yanU.  \ 

CHAPTER  XLin,  ^ 

^'Jnne  %.  June  opens  on  us  warm.  Our  mea'n  tern- 
pe'ratui^  to-day  ha.  been  above  the  freezing  pom  ,  34 
our  lo^^est  only  29° ;  and  at  11  this  mormng  it  ro 
to  40°  The  snow-birds  increase  in  numbers  and  m 
confidence.  It  is  delightful  to  hear  their  sweet  jar- 
ffon  They  alight  on  the  decks,  and  come  unhesitat- 
fZy  to  ol  ve^  feet.  These  dear  litt  e  Fringilhdes 
have  evidently  never  visited  Christian  lands. 

^'June  3.  The  day  misty  and  obscure:  no  land  in 

sight  from  aloft;  and  no  change  apparent  m  the  floe. 

But  we  nbtice  a  distinct  undulation  m  the  ice  tren  h- 

es   alongside,  caused  probably  by  some  propagated 

==-«well* 


^walked  out  at  night  between  9  an^  irWocTir 


c.'V, 


^\. 


THE    BREAK-UP. 


397 


search  Of  open  water.  We  had  the  full  light  of  dav 
bat  mthout  rts  oppressive  glare.  The  thWed  eondl' 
ton  of  the  marginal  ice  made  the  walk  difficultand 

,  top  of  ahummock,  we  could  see  the  bayroliine  itsi^ 
most  summer  waves  close  under  our  view     ifwltv 

Uke  our  cup  of  Tantalus  j  we  axe  never  to  rea«h  it 

^^  the  sLeh.  we  ZZZl:^l^ 

-  "June  4.  Yesterday  over  again.  But  the  water  is 
<»nung  nearer  us.  As  we  stand  on  deck,  we  ersee 
the  black  and  open  channel-way  „n  ever^  side  of  us 
except  ^ff  our  port  quarter:  it  is  uselesT  to  talk  of 
pomto  of  the  compass;  our  floe  rotates  so  constantly 
from  right  to  left,  a«  to  make  them  Useless  in  de^ 
».pt.on.  To  port,  the  extent  of  ice  baffles  the  eye 
™n  fn.m  aloft;  it  must,  however,  be  a  mere  Jh-' 

"June  B,  Thursday.    We  notice  again  this  morn- 
.ngthe  movement  in  the  trench  alongside.    Theflolt 
>ng  ^um  of  rubbish  aSvances  and  reLes  with  a  ™' 
ul«.^  that  can  only  be  due  to  some  e\uable  undZ 
hon  from  without  to  the  north.    We  Itinue^-iit 

cember.  A  more  careful  measurement  than  we  had 
mi.  before,  ga*  us  yesterday,  between  ourTeight 
Jft  and  depression  forward,  a  diflerence  of  lev"l  of  6 
te  4  mches.  This  inclination  teUs  in  a  kn^h  of 
83  feet— about  one  in  thirteen. 

"^*  ^S^Z  «"»!.  A  little  aftertW 


TFir-iv-  "^'  r™"""""'  '''^"M-i,  A  little  after  fivg 
auB  afternoon,  Mr.  Griflin  left  us  for  the  RescW^^ 


398  THE    RESCUE    FREE. 

making  a  short  visit.  He  had  hardly  gone  before  I 
heard  a  hail  and  its  answer,  both  of  them  m  a  tone  of 
more  excitement  than  we  had  been  used  to  for  some 
time  past ;  and  the  next  moment,  th«  cry,  *  Ice  crack- 

ing  ahead !'  ,    i      j    i    •    x  • 

"  Murdaugh  and  myself  reached  the  deck  just  in 
time  to  see  De  Haven  crossing  our  gangway.  We  fol. 
lowed.  Imagine  our  feeUngs  when,  midway  between 
the  two  vessels,  we  saw  Griffin  with  the  ice  separat- 
ingbefoi^  l^im,  and  at  the  same  instant  found  a  crm;k 
tracing  its  way  betweert  us,,  and  the  water  spmning 
up  to  the  surface.  'Stick  by  the  floe.  Good-by! 
What  ifews  for  home?'  said  he.  One  jump  across 
the  chftsm,  a  heaxty  G^. bless- you  shake  of  the, 
hand,  a  ilong  jump  back,  and  a  little  river  divided  our 

party.  '     '  . 

«  Griffin  made  his  way  along  one. fissure  and  over 
another.  We  followed  a  lead  that  was  open  to  our 
starboard  beam,  each  man  for  himself.  .  In  half  a 
minute  or  less  came  the  outcry,  '  She's  breaking  out; 
all  hands  aboard !'  and  within  ten  minutes  from  Grif- 
fin's  first  hail,  whUe  we  were  yet  scrambling  into  our 
little  Ark  of  Refuge,  the  whole  area  about  us  was  di- 
vided  by  irregular  chasms  in  every  direction. 

"All  this  was  at  half  past  five.  At  six  I  took  a 
bird's-eye  sketch  from  aloft.  Many  of  the  fissures  were 
already  some  twenty  paces  across.  Conflicting  forces 
were  at  work  every  where ;  one  round-house  moving 
here,  another  in  an  opposite  direction,  the  two  vessels 
parting  company.  Since  the  night  of  our  Lancaster 
Sound  commotion,  months  ago,  the  Rescue  had  not 
changed  her  bearing:  she  was  already  on  oilr  pott- 
^beam.    Every  thing  was  change. 


"  Our  brig,  howeyer,  had  not  yet  found  an  even  keel 


-4iti^'<.-. 


i\ 


THE     ADVANC 


»<• 


399 

/ 


.  BIRDViVS   view  of   ClOB,  IVHt  5. 

^•^'Wanro.  D.  Flo«  adhorlng  lo  iho  A-lvuncfl. 

K.  Itesoue.  c.  Pa,h  bciwecn  briga  before  break-up. 

II II.  Hummocks. 

The  enormous  masses  of  ice,  thrust  und^r  her  stern  by 
the  action  of  repeated  pressures,  had  glued  themselves 
together  so  completely,  that  we  remained  cradled  in  a 
mass  of  ice  exceeding  twenty-five  feet  in  solid  depth. 
Many  of  these  tables  were  liberated  by  the  swell,  and 
rose  majestically  from  their  recesses,  striking  the  ship, 
and  then  escaping  above  the  surface  for  a  moment^ 
with  a  sudden  vault. 

"To  add  to  the  novelty  of  our  situation,  two  cracks 
jemmg  together  obliquely,  met  a  few  yards  astern^ 


us,  cleaving  through  the  heavy  ice,  and  leaving  us*  at- 


4U0 


ROLLING    ICE. 


tached  to  a  triangular  fragment  of  14  by  22  paces. 
This  berg-like  fragment,  reduced  as  it  was,  continued 
its  close  adhesion.  Its  buoyancy  was  so  great,  that  it 
acted  like  a  camel,  retaining  the  brig's  stern  high  in 
the  air,  her  bows  thrown  down  toward  the  water.  W«|. 
are  so  at  this  moment,  10  P.M." 

All  hands  were  in  the  mean  time  actively  at  work. 
The  floe  had  been  to  us  terra  firma  so  long  that  we 
had  applied  it  to  all  the  purposes  of  land.  Clothes 
and  clothes'  lines,  sledges,  preserved  meats,  kindling 
wood  and  planking,  were  now  all  bundled  on  board. 
The  artificial  horizon,  which  had  stood  for  eight 
months  upon  a  little  ice-pedestal,  was  barely  saved  ^ 
and  I  had  to  work  hard  to  get  one  of  my  few  remain- 
ing thermometers  from  a  neighboring  hummock. 

The  cause  of  this  sudden  disruption— I  mean  the 
immediate  cause,  for  the  summler  influences  had  pre- 
pared the  floe  for  disintegration— was  evidently  the 
sea-swell  setting  from  the  southeast.  This  swell  had 
given  us  minor  manifestations  of  its  existence  as  far 
back  as  the  1st  of  June.  Whether  it  was  increased 
without,  or  our  floe  made  more  accessible  to  it  by  the 
drifting  away  of  other  and  protecting  floes,  I  can  not 
say.  This,  however,  was  clear,  that  the  great  undula- 
tions propagated  by  wave  action  caused  our  disruption. 
The  proof  of  Ihis  I  shall  not  forget. 

Standing  6n  our  little  deck,  and  looking  out  on  the 
floe,  we  had  the  strange  spectacle  of  an  und#fting  so- 
lidity, a  propagated  wave  borne  in  swell-like  ridges, 
as  if  our  ice  was  a  carpet  shaken  by  Titans.  I  can 
not  convey  the  efiect  of  this  sublime  spectacle.  The 
ice,  broken  into  poly hedrio  masses,  gave  at  a  few  hund- 
red yards  no  indications  to  the  eye  of  the  lines  of  sep- 
"^a^ion;  besides  virlich;mT^  ofsalt  water 


Ai» 


»si»nw«ww««»e^" 


THE    CALVES. 


401 


had  no  doubt  increased  the  plasticity  of  the  material 
Imairine,  then,  this  apparently  solid  surface,  by  long 
assmation  a^  unyielding  to  us  as  the  shore,  taking 
suddenly  upon  itself  the  functions  of  fluidity,  another 
condition  of  mattei^.  It  absolutely  produced  some- 
thing  like  the  nausea  of  sea-sickness  to  see  the  swell 
of  the  ice,  rising  and  falling,  and  bending,  transmit- 
tmg  with  pliant  facility  the  advancing  wave 

A  hummock  hill,  about  midway  between  us  and 
the  Rescue  gave  me  an  opportunity  of  measuring 
mdely  the  height  of  the  swell.  It  rose  till  it  covered 
u  ^"^'j^^^^^tj  linking  again  till  I  could  see  the 
side  of  the  brig  down  to  her  water-line,  an  interval 
01  hve  feet  at  least. 

"As  we  walk  along  the  edge  of  the  open  fissures, 
we  see  a  wonderful  variety  in  the  thickness  of  the 
ice.  Our  apparently  level  surface  is,  in  fact,  a  mo- 
saic work  of  ices,  frozen  at  separate  periods,  and  tes-  ' 
selated  by  the  several  changes  or  disruptions  which 
we  have  undergone.,  Thus  I  can  see  the  tables  un- 
der  our  stern  extending  down  at  least  twenty-five  ■ 
feet:  adjoining  this  is  ice  of  four  feet:  next  comes  a 
field  of  SIX  feet;  and  then  hummock  ridges,  with  ta- 
"Twent  '''^'  '°  ^  ^  ^^«  ^«  ^PP^^ent  depth 

"The  'calves'  also,  of  which  a  greatinany  have 
now  risen  to  the  surface,  are  worthy  of  note.  These 
singulaj  masses  are  evidently  fragments  of  tables  of 
every  degree  of  thickness,  which  have  been  forced 
down  by  pressure,  and  afterv^d,  by  some  change  in 
the  temperature  of  the  wa*er,\r  by  wave  and  tidal 
actions,  have  been  liberated  again  from  the  floe,  and 
find  their  way  upward  wherever  an  opening  permits. 


( 


^W9awthm  fionesr-com^ed  and  cellular,  water-sod. 


^_^,  .,..^^j 


402 


STATE    OF    THE     ICE. 


den  and  in  rounded  feq^lders,  rising  from  the  depths 
of  the  sea.  Their  density,  so  near  that  of  the  hquid 
in  which  they  were  suhmerged,  made  this  rise  slow 
and  impressive.  We  could  see  them  many  fathoms 
helow,  voyaging  again  to  the  upper  world.  Once  be- 
tween the  gaping  edges  of  the  lead,  they  effectually 
prevent  the  closing.  They  are  about  us  in  every  di- 
rection, interposed  between  the  fields. 

"The  appendage  which  sustains  oulr^.brig  has  a^ 
good  deal  of  this  character.  I  will  try  "fo  make  an 
exact  drawing  of  it  as  a  curiosity,  if  it  hangs  on  to 
us  much  longer.  Its  buoyancy  indicates  great  sub- 
merged mass.  A  strong  cable  and  ice  anchor  have 
be6n  carried  to  a  floe  on  our  starboard  bow,  and  the 
swell  drives  it  upon  us  like  a  great  battering-ram. 
This  ingenious  method  of  pounding  us  out  of  our  te- 
naoious  cradle  subjects  us  to  a  regular  succession  of 
heavy  shocks,  which  would  startle  a  man  not  used 
to  ice  navigation.  At  the  time  I  WTite,  11  P.M.,  we 
have  been  nearly  three  hours  subjected  to  this  bang- 
ing without  any  apparent  impression.  To-morrow 
we  will,  if  not  liberated,  apply  the  saw;  and  then 
again  to  the  warps ! 

"  11  20  P.M.  In  fde  midst  of  fragments,  "few  more 
than  a  hundred  yards  in  length,  neagly^l  much 
smaller.  Between  them  are  zigzag  lea4s  of  open 
water.  Astern  of  us  is  an  expansion  of  sdme  fifty 
yards  across;  ahead,  a  winding  creek,  wider  flian  our 
brig.    Thus  closes  the  day. 

"One  thing  more:  a  thought  of  gratitude  before  I 
turn  in.  This  journal  shows  that  I  have  been  in 
the  daily  habit  of  taking  long,  solitary  walks  upon 
the  icgj  miles  from  tfie  ship.  Suppose  this  roj^ture 
to  have  come  entir^y  without  forewarniiigrTiE^ 


-A 


STATE    OP    THE     ICE. 


403 


gre^d  my  boots  for  a  walk  a  few  hours  before  the 
change,  and  only  postponed  it  because  I  happened  to 
get  absorbed  in  a  book.  ff^nmi  w 


! 

( 

■  ^■^ 

ifl 

TorooBAfBv  or  rLoi,  ivaa  i. 


%. 


V') 


■'.■«4 


FBOriLB  or  FLOS  ;   FOBT  SIDI. 


rsoriLB  em  »M«  1  •taebo/ud. 


PTER  XLIV. 

'■  f  -i  q       -^'^Z 

'^June  6.  pur  bumping  continued  all  night,  -with- 
out any  apparent  effect  upon  our  •  stickitig-pla^r. 
Acting,  as,  this  impact  does,  at  the  long  end  df  a  lev- 
er, our  stern  being  immovably  fixed,  it  must  be  hard 
upon  tike  rudder  post,  a  beam  that  is  now  protruding 
from  tlie  least  strengthened  part  of  our  brig  into  a 
transparent  glue  of  tenacious  ice.  '  The  twelve-feet 
saw,  suspended  from  a  tripod  of  spars,  is  at  work,  try- 
ing to  cut  a  line  across  the  mass  to  our  keel.  But  for 
-thir  f^pesdagej  we  would  bejnow  warping  througt^ 
the  fissures. 


ji      *. 


V   • 


iion^«MW'm<w 


OUR    DRAO. 


405 


7  PM    The  position   of  things  continues  un- 

f  if  ..  "i  '"'^■'^"^  ^^*^  fi^«**  lator  buried  its 
length  in  the  floe,  reaching  nearly  to  our  stern;  but 
the  submerged  material  is  so  thick  that  it  has  little 
or  no  eflect.  Wedging,  by  billets  of  wood  between 
.  her  sides  and  the  mounding  ice,  was  equally  ineffect- 
ual. Gunpowder  would  perhaps  release  us:  but  that 
we  can  not  spare. 

"I  tried  to  measure  the  depth  of  this  inveterate 
compamon  of  ours.    Standing  at  our  port  gangway, 
I  lowered  the  pump-rod  twenty-four  feet  to  a  shelf 
projectmg  from  the  mass:  beneath  this,  a  prolonga- 
tion  or  tongue  stretched  to  a  depth  which  I  could  not 
deternune.    On  the  other  side,  to  starboard,  the  ice 
descends  m  solid  mafis  some  twenty  feet.    Adoptihff 
twenty.four  feet  as  a  mean  depth,  and  ninety  by  fifty 
feet  as  the  mean  of  dimensions  at  the  surface,  the 
solid  contents  of  this  troublesome  winter  relic  would 
1)9  108,000  cubic  feet.    No  wonder  it  lifts  up  our  little 
craft  bodily.    I  have  made  my  drawings  of  it  with 
all  topographical  accuracy. 
'       "The  wind  ha^  been  hauling  round  from  the  south 
^  >  the  west,  and  by  a|fernoon  blew  quite  freshly     We 
^  toade  aU  sail,  even  to  studding-sails,  in  hopes  offer- 
cmg  the  cracks  ahead,  and  tearing  ourselves,.*^  it 

T'  '^/"'i"'^^^^"'^"*'  Thus  far  Wl  has  failed. 
10  FM.  Tl^e  ship  is  covered  with  canvas:  she 
stands  motionless  amid  the  ice,  although  her  wings 
are  spread  and  tense.  The  wind  is  fresh  and  steady 
from  the  northwest.  Our  swell  ceases  with  this  wind 
and  the  floes  seem  disposed  to  come  together  again:' 
but  the  days  of  winter  have  passed  by.  and  the  inter- 
Jingcalvesffl-eveni^e  apposition  of  the  edpsr 


"  The  effects  of  a  constant  force,  slight  as  it  seems, 


^. 


if 

m 

i^Bj 

'■ 

■ 

^^■; 

^1' 

'^■^ 

»il 

fl' 

■1 

406 


REMEMBRANCERS. 


have  been  beautifully  shown  by  our  brig.  Pressing 
as  we  do,  under  full  canvas,  against  heavy  yet  qui- 
escent  masses,  we  gradually  force  ahead,  breasting 
aside  the  floes,  and  leaving  behind,  us  a  pool  of  open 
water.  Our  rate  is  ten  feet  per  hour !  Remember 
that  the  old  man  of  Sinbad  still  clings  to  us,  and  that 
we  carry  the  burden  in  this  filow  progress.  I  hope 
that  the  Sinbad  comparison  will  end  here ;  for  I  can 
readily,  without  much  imagination,  carry  it  further. 

"  12  Midnight.  Still  advancing,  dragging  behind  us 
this  pertinacious  mass.  We  have  butted  several  times 
rudely  againsi^projecting  floes,  but  it  is  as  unmoved 
as  solid  rook.  Very  foggy:  Rescue  not  visible.  Ther- 
mometer  at  29<^. 

"  We  recognize,  among  the  floe  fragments  around 
us,  old  play.fellows.  Here  we  played  foot-ball ;  there 
we  skated ;  by  this  hummock  crag  stood  my  thermom- 
eters ;  and  here  I  shot  a  bear.  We  are  passing  slowly 
from  them,  or  they  from  us.  Now  and  then  a  rubbish 
pile  will  show  itself,  cresting  the  pure  ice.  Even  an 
old  Champagne  basket,  full  of  nothing  but  sadly-pleas- 
ant associations,  is  recognized  upon  a  distant  floe. 
This  breaking  up  of  a  curtilage  is  not  without  its  re- 
grets. I  wish  that  our  'old  man'  would  loosen  his 
griping^nees :  three  hours  would  put  us  into  compar- 

atively  open  water. 

"Jmhc  7,  Saturday.  The  captain  says  that  the  shocks 
'  of  the  night  of  the.  fifth  were  the  hardest  our  brig  has 
experienced  yet. 

"  This  morning  we  made  our  incubus  fast  to  one 
end  of  a  passing  floe,  and  ourselves  fast  to  the  other: 
double  hawsers  were  used,  blocks  and  tackle  rigged, 
and  rtll  hands  placed  at  our  patent  wjnoh,  the  slack 
bemg  controlled  by  a  windlass.    "We  parted  oiir  ^— 


.^' 


1^  STATE    OP    THE    ADVANCE.  407 

m^^ZhJSk  T"  ^"f  '"  ""■»  *»  *dd  one  oheer 
more  to  tb^Hoh  came  from  the  ice     A  l.r™  c 

ment.  extelSfftom  her  saw.r«k  l„g^J^'«^t"S; 

ourKeei,  and  by  its  aize  sustainine  us  in  nnr  r^,«t.  3 
condition.    We  had  settled  bnt  nL  ii^"he,  „T^ 
quence  of  our  partial  disengagemel  '  ""  ""* 

I-ooking  from  the  taffrail  down  the  stem  r^t 
can  now  «e  the  posiUon  of  this  p^rtLn  2^-^^ 
distinotly.  A  stdp  of  her  false  keel  ha^  beerf<,«.^f 
fiom  rt.  attachments,  drawing  the  heaVwtf  ^d 
♦eanng  away  «,me  of  our  sheathing.  sZ  f^The  ^ 
jury  extends,  whether  the  entire  Ing^^rfthft^ 
or  through  «,me  few  yards,  we  ean  noftell.  It  mutt 
have  occurred  during  the  groat  ice  commotion  ofX 
^tar  7th  «,d^8th.    The  diauption^yZ^^ 


^''^''^^^^^^rx^^ 


408 


UNDER    WEIGH. 


/ 


i 


%t  out  keel  probably  received  its,  shock  at  the  same 
^e  that  ^re  received  our  elevation.    We  have  es-  , 
caped  wonderfully.  . .     ^ 

^^Jum  8,  Sunday.  Evgn  keel  again ! !    Once  more 
floating  ship-fashion,  in  a  ship's  element.    It  was  be- 
tween  twelve  and  t)ne  o'clock  this  morning.    Mur- 
daugh  went  down  upon  the  fragment,  which  was  stUl 
adhering  to  our  starboard  side.    He  had  hardly  rested 
his  weight  upon  it,  when,  with  certain  hurried,  scarce- 
ly  premonitory  grindings,  it  cleared  itself.    He  had 
barely  time  to  scramble  up  the  brig's  side,  teaiing  his 
nails  in  the  effort,  before,  with  crash  and  turmoil,  it 
tumbled  up  to  th^  surface,  letting  us  down  once  iftore 
into  clear  water.    When  I  reached  the  deck,  I  could 
hardly  realize  the  level,  horizontal  condition  of  things,  ' 
we  have  been  accustomed  to  this  up  and  down  lull 

work  so  long.  \    ,  »    ,       \  e 

"  9  ]^.  At  1  o'clock  P.M.  the  wind  freshened  trom 
"  the  northward,  enough  to  make  sail.    We  cast  off,  and 
.   renewed  the  old  times  process  of  boring,  standing  ir- 
regularly  among  the  fragments  to  the  southward  and 
eltward.    We  received  some  heavy  bumps,  but  kept 
uTder  weigh  untU  6  P.M.,  when  an  impenetrable  ice- 
fog  caused  us  to  haul  .up  to  a  heavy  floe,  to  which  we 
tore  now  faat  by  three  anchors.    We  esthnate  our  prog- 
ress  at  six  miles.    The  Rescue  is  not  visible.. 
"  From  the  heavy  floe  to  which  we  are  secured  we 
<  obtained  fresh  thcmed  water.    This  is  the  first  time 
since  the  15th  of  Septeiiiber  that  I  have  drunk  water 
liquefied  without  fire.    Eight  months  and  twenty-iour 
days :  think  of  that,  dear  strawberry  an^  cream  eating 

^Two  saw  m  ice^floe  to^ajr,  which  had  evidently^ 


come  from  the  upper  northern  regions  ^f  Wellington, 


MAGNIFICEJVT    FLOE. 


4t)9 


or  the  North  Baffin's  Straits.     This  ice,4hough  pure 
^  and  beautiful,  could'  never  have  been  c;eated  in'ny 

SL"t;\  \*>-'  "^'^  ^'  understand  for  the 
first  time  the  startling  .tones  of  Wrajigell.  This  floe 
IS  now  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  yard/ W  b^ 

S"tlbt  whil'f '".^^^^  *^  '^'^^  fo/infraS 
,  of  tebles,  whJe  Its  purity  precludes  the  idea  of  ground 

ce.  Its  depth,  ascertained  from  its  mean  UneTflo 
tation,  exceeds  forty  feet.  Its  surface  is  leveUnd  thJ 
appearance  looking  down  into  its  pure  deptL  W 
^1  beyond  description.  It  forms  part  of  a^great  fi"d 
milesmcircumference,^.  similar  coaptatingfrI„ 
are  seen  m  every  direction ;  the  great  swefl  oSsth 
having  no  doubt  destro3?M  its  integrity.  From thlt 
great  winter  ba^in  comes  ihis  colossal  ice  ^ "  • 


."^ 


•^    ,r 


/^' 


JO- 


f     ' 


■  '\ 


-W- 


CHAPTER  XLV. 


kvESsoMnued  our  progress  through  a  labyrinth  of 
ic^  sometimes  running  into  a  bergH^r  grazing  against 
its  edge  s^  close  as  to  carry  away  a  spar  oi  stave  a 
quarter-boat,  but  still  making  our  way  across  to  the 
Gi£enlafid  shore.  The  sed,  Was  studded  with  low 
beigs  and  water-washed  floes,  wearing  the  fantastic 
foJms  which  had  surprised  us  the  year  before  Some 
mre  both  complicated  and  graceful,  supported  gener- 
ally  by  peduncular  bases,  which  gave  them  a  curi4 
•'      ■'  •  ous  aspect  oj  Ira-V 

gility.    This  was' 
evidently  due  to 
the  action  of  the 
waves  at  the  wa- 
ter-line, aided  by 
the  warmth  of  the 
atmosphere.  Sonic 
of  these   forms  1 
have  already  giv- 
en at  the  foot  of 
chapters;  others  I  group 
in  the  margin. 

If  we  suppose  a  near- 
ly symnietrical  lump  ot 
ice,  floating  with  that 
stable  equilibrium  which 

■.^^^ belongs  to  its  excessive     ^ ^ 

^^;;Jg^;;^lbK^tmosphererwM^^^^  on 


PREPARATIONS     TO    RETURN.  411 

perature  as  high  as  64°  in  the  sunshine,  wilTgradu- 
ally  round  off  and  crease  the  edges,  and  at  the  same 
time  will  melt  the  portions  of  the  ^ass  which  are 
above  water  Its  buoyancy  increasing  as  its  weight 
IS  reduced,  the  berg  will  now  rise  slowly,  presenting  a 
succession  6f  new  surfaces  to  the  abrasion^f  the  waves  • 
and  thus  we  shall  have  the  familiar  mushroom  or  fun  ■^' 
gold  appearance  which  is  shown  in  many  of  the  plates. 
^^  The  process  continuing  under  all ' 

tHe  modifications  of  wave  action, 
tvhile  the  opposing  face  of  the  berg 
varies  with  every  change  of  its 
gravitating  qentre,  we  may  have  ec 
centric  |esemblances  to  animated 
things  sculptured  in  the  ice,  and  at 
other  times  forms  of  classic  symme- 
..  try,  or  the  frets  and  garniture  of 

mediaBval  art. 

Our  sail  through  this  fanciful  archipelago  was  a 
most  uncomfortable  one.     Our  stoves  had  been  taken 
down;  and  the  scurvy,  exaggerated  by  the  increased 
exposure  to  damp,  began  again  to  bear  hard  upon  us 
We  devanred^eagerly  the  seal,  of  which,  by  gooij  for- 
tune,  we  Bad  several  re-enforcements ;  but  as  the  ex- 
citements  of  peril  declined,  the  energies  of  the  men 
seemed  to  rekx  more  and  more ;  and  I  had  reason  to 
fear  that  we  should  not  be  able  to  resume  our  search  . 
effectively,  until  the  health  of  our  party  had  under- 
gone a  tedious  renovation. 

It  had  been  determined  by  our  commander  that  we  " 
should  refresh  at  Whale  Fish  Islands,  and  then  hast- 
en  back  to  Melville  Bay,  the  North  Water,  Lancaster 
Sound,aiid  Wellington  ChflJinfel;  ani certainly  there==^ 


was  no  one  on  board  who  did  not  enter  heart  and  soul 


412  < 


KRONPRINSEN. 


into  the  scheme.     It  wag  in  pursuance  of  it  that  we 
were  now  bending  our  course  to  the  east. 

The  circumstances  that  surrounded  us,  the  daily  in- 
cidents,  our  destination  and  purpose,  were  the  same  as 
when  approacl^tig  the  Sukkertoppen  a  year  before. 
There  were  the  same  majestic  fleets  of  bergs,  the  same^ 
legions  of  birds  of^the  same  varieties,  the  same  anx- 
ious look-out,  and  rapid  conning,  and  fearless  encoun- 
•ter  of  ice-fields.    Every  thUjg  was  unhanged,  except 
the  glowing  confidence  of  young  health  at  the  outset 
of  adventure.    We  had  taken  our  seasoning :  the  ex- 
perience  of  a  winter's  drift  had  quieted  some  of  our  en- 
thusiasm.    But  we  felt,  as  veterans  at  the  close  of  a 
campaign,  that  with  recruited  strength  we  should  be 
better  fitted  for  the  service  than  ever.     All,  therefore, 
looked  at  the  well-remembered  cliffs,  that  hung'  over 
Kronprinsen,  with  the  sentiment  of  men  approaching 
home  for  the  time,  and  its  needed  welcomes. 

We  reached  them  on  the  16t"h.  Mr.  Murdaugh,  and 
myself,  and  four  men,  and  three  bottles  of  rum,  were 
dispatched  to  communicate  with  the  shore.  As  we 
rowed  in  to  the  landing-place,  the  great  dikes  of  in- 
jected syenite  stood  out  red  and  warm  against  the 
6old  gray  gneiss,  and  the  moss  gullies  met  us  like  fa- 
miliar grass-plots.  Esquimaiixcrowded  the  rocks,  and 
dogs  barked,  and  children  yelled.  A  few  lusty  pulls, 
and  after  nine  months  of  drift,  and  toil,  and  scurvy, 
we  were  once  jjaore  on  terra  firma. 

God  forgive  me  the  revulsion  of  unthankfulness ! 
I  ought  to  have  dilated  with  gratitude  for  my  lot. 

Winter  had  been  severe.    The  season  lagged.   The 
birds  had  not  yet  begun  to  breed.    Faces  were  worn, 

and  forms  bent.    Eve^  body  was  coughing.    In  one 

hut,  a  summer  lodge  of  reindeer  and  seal  skins,  w®" 


■i^ 


AT    GOPHAVEN. 


413 


a  dead  Child.  It  was  many  months  since  I  had  look, 
ed  at  a  «,rpse.  The  poor  little  thing  had  been  fo, 
once  washed  clean,  and  looked  cheerfully.    The  f" 

tt'l  t«        r'  "  "'^P'"«'  *"  '*  -""  a M;  and 

nltu  ll  7  ""'"  '"•'^"^  lamentation  in  a  most 
natural  and  savage  way.  ^ 

a  LrV^^  ?T^  ?  «trinW  blue  beads,  and  bought 
JZ  .T^f'^  ^°*^  forXe„ty.five  cents;  and 
we  rowed  back  to  the  brig,  ha  very  little  Uile 
we  were  under  sail  for  Godhaven 

We  were  but  five  days  recruiting  at  Godhaven. 
It  wa.  a  shorter  stay  than  we  ha4  expected;  but  w^ 
were  all  of  us  too  anxious  to  regain  th.  s^axchinl 
ground  to  complain.     We  made  the  most  of  it  of 
course.    We  ate  inordinately  of  eider,  a^d  codfish, 
and  seal,  to  say  nothing  of  a  hideous-looking  toad 
fish  a  Lepodogaster,  that  insisted  on  patronizing  our 
pork.baited  Imes;  chewed  bitter  herbs,  too,  of  every 
sor^  we  could  get;  drank  largely  of  the  smallest  of 
maU-beer;  and  danced  with  the  natives,  teaching 
them  the  polka,  and  learning  the  pee-oo-toi-k^  in  re 
turn.    But  at  the  22d,  by  six  o'clock  in  the  morning 
we  were  working  our  way  again  to  the  north. 

We  passed  the  hills  of  Disco  in  review,  with  their 
terraced  ^mmits,  simuiatfng  the  Ghauts  of  Hindos- 
tan ;  the  green-stone  cliffs  round  Omenak's  Fiord,  the 
great  dockyard  of  bergs;  and  Cape  Cranstoun,  around 
which  they  were  clustered  like  a  fleet  waiting  for  con- 
voy.    They  were  of  majestic  proportions;  and  as  we 
wound  our  way  tortuously  among  them,  one  after  an. 
0  her  would  come  into  the  field  of  view,  l|ke  a  tern- 
pie  set  to  be  the  terminus  of  a  vista.    At  one  time 
^hadth^wAole  Acropolis  looking  down  upon  as  k^ 

silver !   ftF  nnnfVior    «.,.  t>u:i_j-i    •  t~  *  ««r^«- 


V 


^=.^^.^.,^^,~^  ^—-^^^f^e^^^''  ivuti^ug  uown  upon  as4a 
silver;  at^  another,  our  Philadelpia  copy  of  the  Par- 


414 


BEROS. 


,  thenon,  the  monumental  Bank  of  the  United  States, 
stood  out  alone.     Then,  again,  so;ne  venerable  Cathe- 


.W*^* 


1^ 


•^ife»ir% 


1:^-^ 
*^^-^' 


'^^fe. 


dral,^ith  its  deep  vaults  and  hoary  belfries,  would 
spread  itself  across  the  sky ;  or  perhaps  some  wild 
combination  of  architectural  impossibilities. 

We  moved  so  slowly  that  I  had  time  to  sketch  sev- 
ert/of  these  dreamy  fabrics.  The  one  which  is  en- 
graved  on  the  opposite  page  was  an  irregular  quad- 
rangle, projected  at  the  extremity  of  a  series  of  ice- 
structures,  like  the  promontory  that  ends  an  isthmus : 
it  was  crowned  with  ramparts  turreted  by  fractures ; 
and  at  the  water-line  a  great  barreled  arch  went  back 
into  a  cavern^  that  might  have  fabled  as  the  haunt  of 
sea-kings  or  smugglers.  Another,  much  smaller,  but 
still  of  magnificent  size,  had  been  excavated  by  the 
waves  into  a  deep  grotto ;  aiid  the  light  reflected  from 
the  bay  against  its  transpt^/ent  sides  and  roofs  colored 
them  with  a  blue  too  superb  for  imitation  by  the  brush, 
or  pencil. 


^ 


OFF    STOROE. 


.41.J 


In  the  morning  of  the  24th  we  made  the  pack- 
more  to  the  south,  therefore,  than  last  year.     It  an' 
peared  at  first  like  a  firm  neck,  extending  out  among 
..heavy  bergs  well  into  Haroe  Island;  and  remember 
mg  our  last  year's  experience,  we  mov^  cautiously. 
But  after  a  while  our  captain,  now  perhaps  the  best 
ice-master  afloat,  determined  on  boring.    The  dolphin     ' 
strdcer  was  triced  up,  the  boats  were  taken  on  board, 
and  the  old  sounds  of  conning  the  helm  began  again 
This  tune  we  were  lucky.     In  four>  hours  we  were 
through  the  tongue  of  the  pack,  and  out  in  nearly  an 
open  sea.  ■' 

We  did  not  move  long,  however,  b^bre  the  navi- 
gation  became  embarrassed.  The  ice  between  Cape 
Lawson  and  Storoe  was  too  compact  to  be  wedged 
aside;  and  after  some  rude  encounters  with  the  floe^ 
and  a  naiTow  escape  from  a  reef  of  rocks  which  Cap- 
tarn  Graah  s  charts  do  not  mention,  we  found  our- 
selves, on  the  25th,  nearly  embayed  by  the  nol,le  heaxl- 
lands  off  Ovmde  Oerme.     The  ice,  in  ^  horseshoe 


416 


HABITS    OF    THE    SEAL. 


curve,  completely  shut  us  in  to  the  north,  and  the 
tohgue  of  the  pack  we  had  come  through  lay  between 
us  and  the  sea.  The  wind  had  left  us.  We  were 
drifting  listlessly  in  a  glassy  aea  that  reflected  the 
green-stone  terraces  and  strange  pyramidal  masses  of 
its  romantic  shores. 

We  amused  ourselves  killing  seals.  There  must 
have^en  hundreds  of  them  of  all  varieties  playing 
about  us.  Generally  tjiey  were  to  be  seen  paddling 
about  alone,  but  sometimes  in  groups,  like  a  party  of 
school-boys  frolicking  in  the  Schuylkill.  One  of  their 
favorite  sports  was  "treading  water,"  rising  breast- 
high,  keeping  up  a  boisterous,  indefatigable  splashing, 
and  stretching  out  their  necks,  as  if  to  pry  into  the 
condition  of  things  aboard  ship.  We  compared  their 
behavior  to  that  of  the  timorous  but  curious  natives, 
when  the  Europeans  first  met  them  in  the  wate^  of 
America;  and  in  our  intercourse  with  them,  confon^d 
accurately  to  the  Spanish  precedent. 

Occasionally  only  we  obeyed  our  "manifest  des- 
tiny" with  reluctance.  Some  of  the  younger  of  these 
poor  sea-dogs  had  overmuQb  of  the  honest  expression 
of  their  land  brethren :  the  truncation  of  the  muzzle  in 
others,  with  no  external  ear  showing  behind  it,  set 
their  faces  in  almost  perfect  fi«id  human-like  oval. 
When  one  of  these  would  come  up  out  of  the  water 
near  us,  and,  raising  his  head  and  shoulders,  that  stoop- 
ed like  those  of  a  hooded  Esquimaux,  gaze  steadily  at 
us  with  his  liquid  eye,  then  diving,  come  up  a  little 
nearer  and  stare  again ;  so  drawing  rieaarer  ahd  nearer, 
diving  and  rising  alternately,  till  he  came  within  mus- 
ket range ;  it  sometimes  went  hard  to  salute  him  with 
a  bullet. 


We  shot,  among  others,  a  very  liarge  beast  (P.  Jar- 


W- 


8EAL    HUNTS. 


417 


fate),  lying  upon  a  floatiiigjiece  ofice.  The  caDtain'» 
ball  went  through  his  heart;  and  my  oTr^XZly 
deadly,  within  a  few  inches  of  it;  b«I  the  unXldv 
creature  continued  struggling  to  re;ch  the  water  it« 
a  shot  from  Mr  Well,  dose  upon  him.  drove  a  mus 
ket-ba^l  through  hi,  head.  He  measured  lulZ 
from  tip  to  tip,  five  feet  eleven  inches  in  his  |™ate^ 


ahapeleaa  cylin- 
lepresent  tho 

>rto,  when  kill- 
brain  or  spinal 
But  the  rule- 


the  fore-flippers.    His  carcasi 
der,  terminating  in  an  awk 
head. 

We  lost  two  seals  by  sin^.„ 
ed  on  the  instant  by  perfora|io»-,  *„, 
marrow,  they  had  invariably  floated,  ^uz  tne  rule 
does  not  hold  al^rays.  I  wounded  one  so  as  to  cl^y 
away  the  crown  of  his  skull,  and  Captain  De  Haven 
gave  him  a  second  shot  from  within  a  few  yards  dT 
«cly  through  the  head,  and  yet  we  lost  him.  As  the 
baUs  struck,  he  discharged,  almost  explosively,  a  quat 
tiiy  of  air  and  went  down  like  a  lool  The  whalers 
say  wound  your  seals ;  but  my  own  experierice  is,  thlT 
If  they  are  fat,  it  is  best  to  kill  them  at  once     A  Dan 

ntth^r.r  '  ^^  r  .^^  "^  ""^  '''^''^  ^*  I>i«eo  told 
M  iu  ^  ^T^^'  '^"^^"8^  ™  »  proof  that  he  had 
no  blubber     He  was  probably  right :  we  certain^ 
not  secure  kny  that  were  in  good  condition.       Iw 
Ihe  next  day  gave  us  excitement  of  a  difierent  sort 
We  had  been  lying  in  the  young  ice-field,  close  under 
the  southeast  shore  of  Storoe,  with  the^current  setting 
strong  toward  it,  and  a  grim  array  of  bergs  to  the  west 
01  us.    It  waa  an  ugly  position;  but  we  were  fairly 
entangled,  and  there  was  no  escape.    Early  in  the 
^mn^^freshened.andhlew:inioLd^^ 

island:  the  inn  ml  in  (raYra;^  c,4.4.k i .    . 


#J 


island ,  the  icepihng  against  the  rocky  precipice  under 


i^ifi"    .',  J'^'l^'-^  pwl/if/  I  I  \        ,'r'i. 


1*. 


418 


A    RAMBLE    ON    A    BERG. 


our  lee,  and  opening  in  broken  masses  to  windward, 
The  Rescue  managed  to  make  fast  to  a  crag  between 
us  and  the  shore,  but  our  ice-anchprs  missed.  At  four 
In  the  afternoon  we  were  within  rifle-shot  of  the  land, 
and  still  drifting ;  the  wind  a  gale,  and  the  sea-swell 
coming  in  heavily.  r 

'  W0  stopped,  of  course,  or  there  would  have  been  an 
endof  my  journal.  But  for  some  hours  things  looked 
squally  enough.  Our  soundings  had  become  small  by 
degrees  and  beautifully  less,  till  they  were  down  to 
thirteen  feet ;  and  the  black  wall  looked  so  near  that 
you  could  have  hit  it  with  a  filbert.  It  could  not 
have  been  fifty  yards  off,  when  we  brought  up  on  some 
grounded  floe-pieces.  By  eleven,  our  warps  had  head- 
ed  us  to  windward,  and^our  bow  was  off  shore.  For 
once,  at  least,  we  owed  our  safety  to  the  ice. 

The  Rescue  followed  a  few  hours  after ;  and  we  took 
the  direcfion  of  the  pack  together  to  th«  N.N.W.  By 
the  next  day  at  noon  we  were  within  twenty-three 
miles  of  Uppernavik,  but  a  belt  of  ice  lay  between. 
We  anchored  to  a  berg,  and  for  two  days  waited  pa- 
tiently  for  an  opening. 

My  messmates  in  the  mean  time  went  off  on  a  hunt 
to  a  flat,  rocky  ledge,  that  showed  itself  inshore,  and  I 
amused  myself  with  a  tramp  on  the  ice-«land  to  which 
we  were  fast.  I  had  fo|  company  a  nobl^  Esquimaux 
slut,  that  Goveriftr  Moldrup  had  enabled  me  to  get  at 
Disco,  and  a  j|og  of  the  same  breed  belonging  to  Mr. 
Lorell.  I  do  not  know  what  has  become  of  Hosky, 
as  Mr.  Lovell  named  his  favorite ;  but  my  poor  Uir^i 
M\  a  martyr  to  our  Philadelphia  climate  i^nd  his  Arc 
tic  costume  together,  some  three  days  after  we  got 

hpme^ .     . t,,_i 

"  "*lhaairquretdafs  Wftm.^^y  companions^ambled- 


«> 


^ 


f 


.^ 


EXPLAXATIOX, 


419 


work.  But  the^  cryIrpa,^e?o  IT  "' r/  *''^'- 
thing  else  undet  this  nort  ,er„Tk'  1  ""'' '''"'  "'"^' 
ly  in  their  apparent  siri?:  titrir"'™"^- 
chored,  that  the  hew  was  a  Ul  '     '""'  **  ™- 

more  than  the  third^f  a  ml  i  a"l!'  f  T'»»'-i 
l^fore  we  reached  its  further  Xe  "  '"""  ""^ 

The  purs  surfaces  which  we  trnvli„,i 
ded  with  irregularblookilfi!        ,'■*""■' ''"<'- 
ta«hed  and  cemented  on  a^Un""''TT''™">:  T'  ''" 


-^>    -         '^ 


otliJlt !"!!!!!«"«  •'«'"'">«■'■>-  «...ested 


obtrusively  the  <l»e^n  of  ZZeZ't^  uT 

l«,  how  such  fragments  find  their  pj  Je  on  the  T" 

t«a  surfaces  of  the  iceberm      I  Ls  P'"^ 

question  for  myself  before  Tut  I^^J'T'^'^  *^'' 


/ 


420 


VISIT    OF    ESQUIMAUX. 


excursion.    When  first  the  mass  separates  from  the 
land-herg  or  glaxsier,  it  is  accompanied  by  a  large  quau- 
tity  of  disengaged  fragments,  with  all  varieties  of  ie- 
tritus ;  and  during  the  alternate  risings  and  sinkings 
that  follow  the  fall  into  the  sea,  a  ^eat  deal  of  this  is 
caught  by  the  emerging  surface  of  the  berg,  and  ad- 
heres  to  it.    I  noticed  valleys,  where  the  subsequent 
roll  had  rounded  the  masses,  and  grouped  them  mto 
something  resembUng  bowlder-drift.    I  had  seen  sim. 
ilar  valleys  in  someof  the  large  bergs  of  Duneira  Bay 
supplying  a  bed  for  temporary  water-streams,  in  which 
the  bowlders  were  beautifully;  rounded,  and  arranged 
in  true  moraine  fashion.    I  have  given  a  sketch  of  one 
of  these :  it  faces  this  chapter. 

Oflf  Storoe,  a  white  fox  (C,  lagopus)  oa4we  to  us  on 
the  loose  ice:  his  legs  and  the  tip  of  his  tail  were 
black.    He  was  the  first  we  had  seen  on  the  trreen- 

land  coast.  _x      n?     • 

•      He  was  followed  the  next  day  by  a  party  of  Esqui- 

'  maux,  who  visited  us  from  Proven,  dragging  their  ka- 
vaoks  and  themselves  over  seven  miles  of  the  pack, 
and  then  paddling  merrily  on  board.  For  two  glasses 
of  mm  and  a  sorry  ration  of  salt-^>rk,  they  kept  turn- 
ing  somersets  by  the  dozen,  nAing  their  egg-shel 
sldffs  revolve  sideways  by  a  l^uch  of  the  paddle,  and 
hardly  disftPpearing  under  the  water  before  they  were 
heads  uplSain,  and  at  the  gangway  to  swallow  their 

''^  The  inshore  ice  opened  on  the  thirtie>*(and  toward 
evening  we  left  the  hospitable  moorage  of  our  iceberg, 
ancT  made  for  the  low,  rounded  rocks,  which  the  Hosky 
pointed  out  to  us  a^  the  seat  of  the  settlement.  The 
W^  were  out  to  tow  us  clear  of  the  floatmg  rubbish, 


essary,  an 
age,  wher 
pleasant  ( 
priest,  Loi 
cousin,  an 


The  bap 

erated  thes 

not  conforn 

minutes,  to 

covered  wit 

I  *  blow  their 

tive  and  pic 

assured,  the; 

They  voluni 

ly  that  the] 

smok  A  Loi 

ing  liquids, 

air  had  mad 

Hospitality 

hard  tack,  a: 

tion  at  once. 

It  is  not  fc 

company.    I 


M. 


"^8  the  light  ay  variable  winds  made  their  hetriicr.   »  wTtiout  an 


it 


ESQUIMAUX    GUESTS. 


421 


ZZr    "^^  T'  ''-^^J'  -PPtoaching  our  anchor. 
J,  when  a  rough  yawl  boarded  us.    She  brought  a 

^ZrLT^T^'^""'  *•"«  -hoolma^ter  and  parish 

l^a      7'  *"'  ""**■■'  *''°  g"""'  Amalia,  Louisa's* 
cousin,  and  some  others  of  humbler  note. 


The  baptismal  waters  had  but,,uperflcially  regen. 
not  conform  to  our  nicest  canons.    For  the  fir»t  «v. 

'  u      .u  ■       **""  '""'''•  ""h  withdrawine  them  to 
rn^dr/rr  """"""■    »»*  th-i-'n.odesty  thul 

Ir  tha7  S!t  hi  "  f '""=«'r"''«'  to  US  confidential, 
^r  that  they  had  educated  tostS^Amaliaihat  .he 
mok^  Lou«a  that  she  tolerated  the  more  «Sw™  " 
"Sl.qn.ds  and  both  that  their  exe^ise  Tthe  Z, 

Hoqiital  ty  IS  the  virtue  of  these  wild  regions-  ora 
lir  t*t!'?' .'?  *^.^  of  his  afl»r.din„er 


«thout  an  mt.mat.on  that  our  guest,  paid  niggard 


42* 


PROVEN. 


f 


honors  to  the  jolly  god  of  a  milder  clime,  the  veri. 
est  prince,  of  bottle  memories,  would  not  have  qiiar- 
reled  with  their  heel-taps.     *     *     * 

We  were  inside  the  rocky  islands  of  Proven  harbor 
as  our  watches  told  us  that  another  day  had  begun. 
The  time  was  come  for  parting.  The  ladies  shed  a 
few  kindly  tears  as  we  handed  them  to  the  stem- 
seats:  their  learn«^d  kinsman  took  a  recumbent  posi. 
'tion  below  the  thwarts,  which  favored  a  continuance 
©f  his  nap;  and  the  rest  of  the  party  were  bestowed 
with  seaman-like  address— all  but  one  unfortunate 
gentleman,  who,  having  protracted  his  festive  devo- 
4^  tions  longer  than  usual,  had  resolved  not  to^"  go  home 

till  morning."  ^-  ' 

The  case  was  a  difficult  one;  but  there  was  no  help 
for  it.  As  the  sailors  passed  him  to  the  bottom  of  the 
boat,  and  again  out  upon  the  beach,  he  made  the  air 
/  vocal  with  his  indignant  outcries.  The  dogs— I  have 
^  told  yoii  of  the  dogs  of  these  settlements,  how  they 
welcomed  our  first  arrival— joined  their  music  with 
his.  The  Provenese  came  chattering  out  into  the 
cold,  like  chickens  startled  from  their  roost.  The  gov- 
ernor was  rouged  by  the  uproar.  And  in  the  midst 
of  it  all,  our  little  weather-beaten  flotilla  ran  up  the 
first  American  flag  that  had  been  seen  in  the  port  of 
Proven.  " 


OOMUK. 


*••.-' 


1.. 


•^m^' 


!^     ■■  >■ 


'  ^^. 


^^h:-> 


nSVEll  HILU. 


'^   CHAPTER  XL VI. 

The  port  of  Proven  is  securely  sheltered  by  its  mon- 
ster  hills.     But  they  can  not  be  said  to  smile  a  wel- 
come  upon  the  navigator.     A  smiling  country,  like  a 
smiling  face,  nepds  some  provision  of  fleshly  integu- 
raents;  and  no  earthly  covering  masks  the  grinning 
rocks  of  Proven.     They  look  as  if  the  process  of  crum- 
bling  and  wrinkling,  and  splitting,  and  splintering 
had  been  at  work  on  them  sip,?^,the  first  Arctic  frost 
succeeded  the  l^st  metamorpl^^fire;  and  even  now 
gr?at  ledges  are  wedged  off  from  th^,  hillsides  by  the 
ice  and  roll  clattering  down  the  slope^to  the  very 
midst  of  the  settlement.  v       ^ 

Summer  comes  slowly  upon  Proven.  When  ww 
amved,  the  slopes  of  the  hills  were  heavily  hatched 
with  snow,  and  the  surface,  where  it  showed  itself 
>m  frozen  dry.  The  water-lina  Ava^4;Qothed  with. 
•«"Ts  of  broken  ice,  which  scraped  against  the  beach 


a-V 


■si 
424 


HOUSE    OF   PROVEN, 


as  the  #s  roi  and  fell;  and  aniceb_ 
or.  otbeThad  fojind  its  way<^into|ife  h 
was  a^harmless ;Wp,  to^^^  ^"^l 
gereus  nearnesst^d  its'%i^  rosemieasa 


^Xf^ 


i  into  d^ft 
ly,  like  a 


village  church.  ^^ 


,-'#*i. 


t'*.^ 


►use^^ 


^■^^ 


illage  cnuruu.  ^^      •    Y^+v,*  /  Hoskv' 
"JmZi/  3.  I^AItt  writing  In  ih*^Hj)^         .     ^^ 

.   IS^     CristiftlJsen  is  1^  SIbNT g^« W  ^^j 

'  ^  this  house  of  Cristiai^W^7^»; 

ownefl^a  simiile  a^s^^MDaS;, 

ilitolA;tiiirty.one  of  whose  sixt-foiir  win- 

S^l^  within  the  Arctic  circle,  north  o 

m^^ia  Sf  in  his  lonely  region-¥ifi  four  sons  and 


■.■\  < 


^\ 


^'''^X,^ 
V  »'•> 


^l-i  lin, exeept  when  he  ™.ts TJppema.j^to  good  oW 


Hm,  except  when  ne  ^^«^^»  ^*'*'^:"'";S^„_,:;r    His 
mS  hasiie  sa^isftxjtion  of  knowing  «%"P«V!I:  ^T 

Stt  ;re  three  fourths  E^quimau^^  ;;tlM^^^^^^ 
ish  and  the  remainder  Provenish,  or  peculiarly  his 
owk  His  wife  is  a  half-hreed,  and  his  family,  in  kn- 
gnaee  and  aspect,  completely  Esquimaux.  . 

^  «  When  the  long,  dark  winter  comes,  he  exchanges 
book^M^Si  his  friend  the  priest  of  Uppernavik  .  'The 

be  caUed  the  loft  of  the  house,  its  only  apartment  i 
the  one  in  which  I  am.  And  here  eat,  and  drink  an 
:^k,  and  sleep,  and  live,  not  only ^j1»*^nsen  and  all 
his  descendants,  but  his  wife  s  motM 
drenjaandchildren,  and'great^^ 


id  her  chil* 
len  who  are 
5r6ad  by  six- 


/ 


teei 


with  just  height 


THE     FAMILY. 


425 


Iv 


without  his  cap,  to  stand  erect,  and  not  touch  the 
beams.     The  frame  of  the  house  is  of  Norway  pine,  ■ 
coated  with  tar,  with  its  interspaces  caulked  with  moss, 
and  small  window-panes  inserted  in  a  deep  casinff  of 
\^ood;  '      «.     » 

'^  The  most  striking  decorative  feature  is  a  ledge  or 

shelf  of  pine  plank,  of  varying  width,  which  runs  round 
three  of  its  sides.     Its  capacity  is  wonderful.     It  is 
the  softr^id  bed,  on  wi^jch  the  entire  united  family 
find  rooin  to  loll  and  sleep  ;  and  upon  it  now  are^iud- 
died,  besides  a  navy  doctor  and  his  writing  board,  oiie 
mk-bdttle,  sundry  articles  of  food  and  refreshment,  one      * 
sleeping  child,  one  lot  of  babies  not  in  the  least  asleep    ^ 
one  canary-bird  cage  with  its  exotic  and  most  sorrow' 
ful  little  prisoner,  and  an  infinite  variety  ^f  othel*  ar- 
tides  too  tedious  to  mention,  comprising  seal-skins, 
boots,  bottles,  jumpers,  glasses,  crockey  both  of  kitch-' 
en  and  nursery,  coffee-pots,  dog-skin*socks,  canvas  pil-  -^. 
lows,  an  eider-down  comforter, 'and  a  sick  hitch  with 
a  youthful  family  of  >Vhining  puppies. 

"Una,  the  second  daughter,  has  been  sick  and  un- 
der  treatment ;  and  she  is  now  hard  at  work  with  her 
sisters,  Anna,  Sara,  and  Cristina,  on  a  tribute  of  grati- 
tude to  her  doctor.     They  haVe  been  busy  all  Jfi^^..^ 
morning  whipping  and  stitching  the  seal-skins  with 
reindeer  tendon  thread.    My  present  is  to  be  a  com- 
plete  suit  of  ladies'  apparel,  made  of  the  richest  seal- 
skin,  according  to  the  stai^^Md  mode  of  Proven,  which 
may  alway^^^^^^  the  '  latest  winter  fash- 

ion.     It  is,  m^ly  elegant^i:eg^,' ;ro  some  the  unmen- 
tionabl|^Inight  savor  of  mascularity;  but  having  seen 
somethiftg  of  a  more  polite  society^  mg  feminine  assfe       ^ 
iiiationftMe^fltjes^et|^  tope^co^.   Extfemfes  m^--~ 
the  Esquimaux  of  Greenland  and  Amazonaaf  Paris.      '^ 


/^ 


% 


.S    M^... 


trf* 


if. A  • 


**-<^, 


t,'  V' 


"^^f 


426 


^^ 


ESQUIMAUX    LIFE. 


"  The"  large  family  is  a  happy     ^j/ 
one :  so  small  a  home  could  not  /| 
tolerate  a  quarrelsome  mess.    The  [ 
s(Ms,  the  men  Cristiansens,  brave 


'Ji^. 


and  stalwart  fellows,  practiced  in  the  kayack,  and  the 
sledge,  and  the  whale-net,  adroit  with  the  harpoon  and 
expert  with^  the  rifle,  are  cohstant  at  the  chase,  and 
bring  home  their  spoil,  with  the  honest  pride  |^l?oming 
good  providers  of  their  household.  And  the  women, 
in  their  nursing,  cooking,  tailoring,  and  housekeeping, 

.are,  I  siippose,  faithful  enough.  But  what  favorable 
impression  that  the  mind  gets  through  other  channels 
can  contend  aga-inst  the  information  of  the  nose !  Or- 
gan of' the  arist9,cracy,' critic  and  magister  morum  of 
all  civilization,  censor  that  heeds  neither  argurilent  nor 
remonstrance — the  nose,  alas !  it  bids  me  record,  that 
to  all  their  possible  godliness  cleanliness  is  no^  super- 
added. 

"  During,  the- short  summer  of  dayUght — il  is  one 

.^f  the-many  appar^t  vestiges^  amojig  this  p60Bl/,jfL 


ancient  nomadic  habits— the  whole  family  gather  joy-       ■     jtones,  whiol 


ESQUIMAUX    LIFE. 


427 


ously  ,„  the  summer's  lodge,  a  tent  of  seal  or  reindeer 
skin  pitched  out  of  doors.  Then  the  room  ha^TaT 
nual  ventilaton,  and  it,  cooking  and  chamber  feni" 
ture  are  less  hablo  to  be  confounded.    For  thewinTe; 

ciSse  by  the  ledge  I  have  spoken  of,  stand  as  many 
arge  pans  of  porous  steatite  or  serpentine,  eleZZZ 
shght  wooden  ti-ipods.     These,  filled  with  sKub 
ber,  and  garnished  with  moss  round  the    dge  tote^^ 
as  a  wiek,  unite  the  functions  of  chandelier Ind  st^™ 

In  rA  V"T'  "'"''  ""  i»-Wn"n«l  lamp  at  home 
should  be  disciplined  by  one  of  them.  ■  eJ,  bdlsTts 
half-gallon  kettle  of  coffee  in  twenty  minute  aid 
smoker  Ike  a  small  chimney  on  fire  ,?^^and  the  ftree 
burn  together.  There  is  no  flue,  or  fire'-place,  or  op^n 
mg  ot  escape.  ^ '        ^ 

..W?"  '^"""^'"/ng  ^W^  of  the  room  stand  a  valued  ' 
toble  and  three  chairs;  and  with  these,  like  a  buhi  " 
cabinet  or  fancy  Stag^re,  conspicuous  in  its  modest 
«.mer,  a  tub.  It  is  the  steeping-tub  for  curing  skinf 
Its  contents  require  active  fermentation  to  fit  them  &; 
their  oflice;  and,  to  judge  from  the  odor,  the  process 
had  been  going  on  successfully."  ,.- 

We  waited  out  to  sea  again  on  the  aftefiiSn  of  the 
third,  with  our  friend  the  cooper  for  Dilit-  th^lJ 
settlement  turning  out  „p„„  th'e  rl'^^s'^. 
by,  and  remaining  there  tiU  they  looked'ln  the  dfa 
tencehkeajjerdofseal.    But  we  found  no  opent„ 

fourth  ""I  '  """^  ■"""!  '"^''  '«'"''  *«  I^°™n  on  Z 
fourth,  not  sorry,  as  the  weather  was  thickening  t^ 

pa^^ur  festival  mside  the  little  port     ""'"'•'"'"S.  *» 

_^uted  %  t^Bmth^one  of  the  latgesfr  bafaroe^ 

Jtones,  which  ^rolled  down  from  thTcliffS^ 


; 


t 


He 


»« 


y? 


■#• 


^m^ 


''■m 


428 


,V'.-.. 


H  T    S  C  E  i;^  B« 


and  made  an  egg-nogg  of  eider  eggs ;  and  the  men 
haA|k  Hosky  Ball ;  and,  in  a  word,  We  all  did  our  best 
to  make  the  day  differ  from  other  days^which  at- 
temi)t  failed.     Still,  God^jver  bless  tl^e  fourth!^ 

The  sixth  was  Sunday,  and  we  attended  chimm  m 
the  iftorning  at  the  schoolmaster's.  The  service  con- 
si«te(f  iik&  long-winded  hymn,  and  a  longer  winded 
sermon,  in  the  Esquimaux— surely  the  longest  o^ng- 
winded  langua^s.  jThe  congregation  were  some  tgo 
dozen  men  and  v««nla,  not  coun|ing  our  p4rty. 

We  put,  to  sea  in  tU  a^ernooii. .  The  weather  was 
soft  and^mwl shore;  but  outside  it  was  perfectly 
tielightfulTno  wiridr-the  stream^'  of  ice  b^y^hd  en- 
forcing a^mM^yperfecits^lm  upon  theater;  the  ther- 
'mometer,i^^sunshine||Bquentlyilis  high  as  76°, 
and  never,  sinking  below  30^^^?  shade«rf,**I  b^ed  -. 
on  deck  all  night,  sleM)in|^pFtVe  sun. ,  ,M 

And  such  a  ijigh«I  saw  th^  .nftwil  at  midnight, 
.  awhile  the  sun  was  ^linf  along  the  tinted  horizon, 
:^'^^and  duplicat^tl  by  r%ction  from  the  water  below  it: 
the  dark  bergs  to  seaWa,rd  had  outlines  of  silver ;  and 
tw»  wild  cataracts  on  the  shore-side  were  falling  from 


ice-backed  cliffs  twelW^undred;feerinto  tte  sear 


^ 


€^ 


% 


^ 


\ 


BRITISH    WHALERS. 


429 


Juhj  7.  I  was  awakened  from  my  dreamy  slefep  to 
receive  the  visits  of  a  couple  of  boats  that  were  work- 
mg  slowly  to  us  through  the  floes.    An  English  face- 
^two  English  faces— twelve  English  faces :  what  a  hap. 
py  sight !     We  had  had  no  one  but  ourselves  to  speak 
our  own  tongue  to  for  three  hundred  days,  and  were 
a^  glad  to  listen  t6  it  as  if  we  had  been  serving  out 
the  time  in  the  penitentiary  of  silence  at  Auburn  or 
tsing-Sing.    Their  broad  North  Briton  was  music    U; 
was  not  the  offensive  dialect  of  the.prpvincial  English- 
,^an,  with  the  affectation  of  speaking  his  language 
yvreotly;  but  a  strong  and  manly  hbrpe-brew  of  the 
best.langu^ge  in  the  world  for  words  of  sincere  and 
hearty  good-will.     They  had  to  tdrn  up  their  noses 
at  our  seal  s-liver  breakfast ;  but,  when  they  heard  of 
^ur  winter  trials,  they  stuffed  down  the  seal  without 
»-sting?  it.    I  felt  sorry  after  they  were  off,  that  I  had 
^  taken  their  names  down  every  one. 
||  whaling  vessels  to  which  they  returned  were 
in  the  fre^water  outside  the  shore  stream,  the  Jane 
O  Boness^ptain  John  Walker;  and  the  Pacific,  Cap- 
tain P>tt,erson.^    These  gentlemen  boarded  us  as  soon 
as  we  got  through  the  ice  to  them.     They  thought  our 
escape  miraculous;  an<it  was  some  time  before  they 
found  words  Jo  congratulate  us.    "  Augh !"  and  «  Won- 
derful!"  with  a  peculiar  interchange  of  looks,  was  all  , 
they  said.  '  /  '^ 

These  burned  children  (dread  *he  fire;  and  their 
conversation  opened  our  eyes  to  d  Wers  we  had  gone 
through  half  unconscioqsly.  Fe^  masters  in  the 
whaling  trade  but  have  at  some  tinje  suffered  wreck 
Two  seasons  ago,  this  veteran  Patte4on  saw  his  shirf 
thrust  bodily  through  another,  and  t%i  the  transfix 


Himisfixi^g  vessels  were  both  eiteh  up  togbtheT 


% 


430 


BRITISH    WHALERS. 


by  the  greedy  floes.  He  stepped  from  the  last  rem- 
nant of  his  buried  sail  on  to  the  hummocks:  "And 
that's  a'  that  e'e  ha'  seen  o?  her!" 

They  left  us  newspapers,  potatoes,  tv»rnips,  eggs,  and 
fresh  beef  enough  to  eat  out  every  tairit  of  scurvy ! 
They  took  letters  from  us  for  home,  and  cheered  ship 
when  we  parted.  I  must  not  soon  forget  the  Pacific 
and  Jane  O'Boness.  v 


WIULCM  MtAB  THE  PACK 


^«!SAl^5 


/'       /   'A 


If  1  f 

t 

'  i 

/■"// 

'/'J 

I     ,    r 


l«T««to«  or  K  NATIVB  HUT,  DPPIRHAVIK. 

CHAPTER  XLVn. 

The  next  day,  beating  hard  to  windward,  we  made 
Uppemavik  again.  The  scenery  around  it  wa^  very 
striking,  exhibiting  some  magnificent  muriil  sections 
ofgneiss  and  slates.  The  entering  headland  was  some 
fifteen  hundred  feet  high.  We  found  all  the  hills 
patched  with  snow  to  the  water's  edge,  where  their 
ba^es  are  abraded  by  the  movWfloes  from  one  year's 
end  to  another.  h/f^Wt 

Mr.  Murdaugh  aad  mysl^^  the  town ;  that  is 
to  say,  the  priest's  house,  the  gov^^nor's  house,  the  oil 
house,  the  sohooLchurch  house,  and  sundry  native 
jmtg.^  1  hfl  WQQdrCut  at  tha  Ji^ad^  tht»  c4mptOT  gtver- 


432 


UPPER     NAVIK. 


.V, 


jthe  interior  of  one. of  them,  in  which  we  superintend- 
ed  the  manufacture  of  a  Aish  of  coflfee.  Ai 

We  were  received  by  the  governor,  acc«npanied  by 
an  old  friend  of  ours  from  Proven,  a  sort  of  secretary 
there,  "  plenty-scribe-'em"  as  he  styled  himself.     The 
old  gentleman  had  arrived  at  two  that  morning,  Jn  « 
whale-boat,  with  his  stalwart  sons,  after  thirty-^wo 
miles  of  pulling  through  the  ice  against  the  wind. 
"  Keesey  ver  bod,"  he  said ;  "  the  ice  was  very  bad."  r 
The  governor,  superior  in  tone  to  Cristiansen,  who 
is  a  self-made  man,  welcomed  us  wit»  fin©  Danish 
good-breeding,' and, there  is  no  good-breeding  better.  ; 
We  found  him  out  to  be  a  de&perate  conservative,  fear- 
ful  of  nothing  but  change.     His  house  was  atter^the 
fashion  of  Mr.  Moldrop's,  of  Godhaven,  aihd  scrupu-' 
lously  clean.     Coffee  was  served ;  and  we  had  the. 
honor  di  being  introduced  to  three  young  ladi^'  of  the 
half-breed,  absolutely  with  froclcs  on.     I  thought  f 
could  see  that  one  of  them  had  pantalettes  of  seal-skiii 
peeping  out^from'tTnder  her  skirt,  and  a  wiser  critic 
than  myself  might  have  said  that  all  their 'dresses  were 
somewhat  antique  of  fashion.     But  they  met  u,s,  on 
the  other  hand,  with  a4ftdy-like 'disregard  of  our  own 
^  -otitlandish  costume;  ^nd  thouih  our  language  was 
\  spmewhat  composite  in  its  idionTfor  I  understand  nei- 
:v  ther  the  Danish  nor  the  Hosky,  and  thby^understood 
■   very  little  English,  we  managed  to  keep  up  quite  an 
animated  conversation.    It  was  very  pleasant  to^e- 
lapse  in  their  company  fot  a  yhile,  into  thq  manners 
of  society  at  home.   •  -  ,  ' 

We  saw  also  the  family  of  PetcJrsen,  'Penrvyk  dog 

4nd  Es1iuima4?c  manager,  all  neat  And  pleasing  per- 

go»^;  the  sons^  frank,  jnanly  fellows,  ^nd'the  eldest 

-Nteaghter  reiOly  qaJt&J^efJBed  and  preyj,_  But  we  did 

»  '  .1 


T'- 


k       •';.'' 


.  .1 


,f*   -'• 


\':\'':0f' 


:  ■  <\  ".. 


9AFFIN^     I8LAXD8. 


m 


bronaJf     p       ^^^^  Of  newspaper*  which  they  had 

^JtTT  '"T^  °"  '^»y'''*'r  smoothly.    We  had 
dehghtfol  weather;  not  the  best,  indeed.  Jmenwh^ 

'  o,^a4  an  it.  >Z:tZ7t4TZ,Z  Z' 

enmrcled  day,  and  the  sky  looked  L  if  its  Sid" 
igold  sunshme  eould  never  cloud  ,ver  or  end 

■    th„  -T  T/u""^  ■"•*  I^»«f»Ily  the  sea  revived 

the  colors  pf  the  atmosphere.    Wherever  weZked 

..down  .nto  .t,.t  showed  deep,  like  an  inverted  sky     it 

r»^  S!  ""^,'*""*"''"''»""«» '"O-    We  could  see 
•  fte,^/fe« jungle ofsea-weed  that  Wa«  growi^gunder 

i  J.vtXtif  ""J^  '""'  -lorl-wentftreat 
!?g  iron  »?  tides ;.'tntomo«traca  and  Limm;in» 
.^uped  th*ms<tfve,  awi'tho  branche,,  anTci"" 
J^ealsofjoophytio  <«,■„;;,  cum  tfi^^to.,  weTe' 

ylBSSffs,  or  lazily  t,ming  their  crimsoned  disk,  to  thi 
.«nsh,«o     Eviry  now  and  then  some  exZing  crab 

r  hryn*''''^*''"'^"'''^'"'"''^*™  agSfi  ■ 

iBttj^the  protecting  umbrage.  '#|       , 

««if!.r'''?*''"*'*^^"'?''^«^*^«^uine^us.  We 
sailed  %o^gI,  a  town  of  thenf,  grouped  Wther  as  if 
oru>u^j^.tag^e|^^^^ 

M^'^^^^^^^^wkratifte.  » 

Jhe  whalfe/s  (^il  Bafliu:«  Islands  the  Du6k  L^land,     - 
-r  accent  of  £h.  numW  of  these  biMs^^^b^^-   ' 


in<fni,ny  of  »olr  t^eipH^  he^ti^Eg^^ 


^^.^ 


4\ 


■I' 


III 

p^  p 

1 

''  '   1     ?!■ 

1 

1 

^^H  i^B 

tf- 


'i 


,  V     -         ^' 


434 


THE     EIDER. 


(CEHB  AT  BAFFIK'S  ISLARDS. 


heads,  for  a  similar  reason.  It  was  fine.sport  for  aU 
hands  to  gather  eggs  from  the  rocky  crevices  m  which^ 
they  build.  The  birds,  when  disturbed  by  our  preda^ 
torr  visits,  literally  darkened  the  air ;  and  their  quick, 
sharp  cries,  the  hum  of  their  wings  flapping  aroQnd 
us,  and  the  sirfging  noise  of  the  sea  as  it  broke  against 
the  base  of  their  fortress  below,  all  together  jnight  have 
startled  a  novice  in  the  trade  o^  plund«r.  It  was 
"^somfithing  like  "  gathering  samphire." 

We  found  the  eider  also  very  numerous.  In  the 
selection  of  their  nests,  I  remarked  that  these  birds 
avoid  the  soft  and  apparently  wind-proteeted  slopes; 
a  wise  instinct;  as  the  drip  from  the  melted  snows 
would  expose  them  to  Wet  there.  They  choose  gener- 
ally  the  Inobbed  face  of  some  summit,  where  coarse 
sedges  and  mosses  grow  against  the  stone,  Some- 
times  the  nest  is  a  mere  depression  in  the  moss,  sparse- 
iy  lined  with  down ;  but  iituiu  gonorally  it  ih  cm^ 


n.. 


•   \ 


r> 


THE     EIDER. 


435 


The  duXd^L  tad  r  '""'  "'^"  *"  «««»•• 
the  n«ta  from  m^ld  2uhe  gbrT"^  u  ^'"'^  f'"' 
them  firmly  by  a  liuttol,    ""!.*"««*■""•'  """'"■t , 
vhole  of  the  int<^f  !!*.?,.       "*'""'  *"''  P""!  «he  ' 
"«it  well  ag^^t  1^1*"''  "™  «-  "-".  felt- 

lite  head,  set  clumsilvTl  I'  .u  "''"**  «"''  """h- 
disagreeably  «nhep»  T?  ,*''*  "^'''''  «"'''"1''  one 
the  edge,  of  tie l^rS  ^  """""  ''"*''^^  «" 
«».cking  and  feedl  »  ^he  Z^'^'^  '"S^*''"'' 
»«m  another  animal     Th  f  •"'*''  ^''""''''  'hey 

«ht;  andtteyl^^^^teSXf ''%"™''^  ■ 
aounated.    When  in  ^,,J^         j   '    "'  ""''V  and 

™y  and  hard  tapproLT'TtTw  *'  "f' >  "'-' 

A,are„otea.4':;^;;;,tmt"rTn:'^^^^^ 
Their  apparent  stupidity  in  swe„„;Z        *  "'«*'*• 

lieadland8,»fteronrrewJ  1       u?"^  °'°''  "^fW" 
was  like  that  of  ourTn  t         ?  ^'  "*""""'  ''*"""'•     ' 
kUWn„mber.;nt:rZir^^*H'^-   ^^    ■ 

wH^l^rltOethrrNl^^ri"''''-'^*^' 
» Old  England,  are,  like  ZyZlti^^ '^v'^'""'''    ' 

i-«.  in  oner^in^x^ratr-trtr 


\ 


.1.,i 


'  ■, 


•f« 


^f'' 


'^*' 


>   . 


>   ■■>■ 


■•:! 


436  THE  'pRiaf^-  ALBERT. 

Melville  Bay  in  a  season,  they  vrould  take  froi^  a 
couple  of  hundred  tkousand  to  half  a  million. 

On  the  ninth  we  qverto6k  a  vessel,  which  proved  to 
be  the  M'*LeUan  of  New  London,  the  bearer  to  tis  of 
letters  and  papers  from  home.  My  seals,  thank  God, 
were  all  in  red  wax ;  and  I  missed  my  count  of  twen- .. 
ty.four  hours,  by  sitting  up  through  the  whde  day. 
light  night,  reading  them  till  it  was  breakfast-time. 

The  tenth,  we  tjame  up  .with  the  whaling  fleet  ly- 
ing  at  the  Barrier;  and  before  midnight  had  seven 
ndtth  cotmtry  whaling  captains  from  them,  "holdii^g 
clack"  in  our  little  cAbin.    The  sturdy  good  fellowB 
were  overrunning  with  sympathy  for  dangers  which 
they  appreciated  better  than  ourselves,  but  did  not 
limit  its  expression  to  words  of  advice  and^warning. 
1  must  be  excused  for  saying  that  our  countryman, 
Quail,  the  master  of  the  M'Lellan,  made  us  pay  freely 
fp#  «,  few  stores  we  obtained  from  hintf,  lest  the  hber- 
ality  of  these  good  Britons  should  be  esteemed- a  mal^ 
ter  of  bourse.     Money  could  hardly  have  paid  them 
for  ihe  luxuries  which  they  insisted  on  giving  up  to 
ys.     Their  malt^  and  brandy,  and  vegetables,  and 
quarters  of  fresh  beef,  an^  haunches  of  venison  shot 
on  the  islatfds,  covered  our  decks.  - 

On  the  twelfth,  from  the  highest  point  of  otfe  of  the 
,  Duck  Islands- we  descried  with  our  objectgjass  a  top, 
sail  schooner  to  the  southward,  which  proved  to  be  the 
Prince  Albert,  bound  on  the-  sajne  errand  tfs  ourselves. 
Her  comms-nder,  Mr.  AV;illiam  Kennedy,  boarded  us  ai 
midnight  betWeewvthe  sixteenth  arid  seventeenth-  He 
had  more  home  letters  for  us,  but  he  brojight  his  own 
welcome  with  him  besides.  His  demeanor  announced 
his  character"  at  once.  He  had  with  him  Dr.  Cowne, 
"HepguniF- the  Hepburn  uf  poor  F^^utklili'B  Copper^ 


A    ■"  , 


•'/-:; 


/.«.: 


ME.   KENNEDY    AND    „.   BELtOT.  ^gj 

hi»  second  in  col:,:^!,  m"!^:,  „';''77°f*^'^^' 
the  French  navy,  an  ^<^pl^M's:i^^:i'"- 
I  regret  that  the  relations  of  confirm.??  ■/?''• 
bave  e^hlMed  with  the^e  M^^t^t^^' 
cate  on  my  part  to  speak  of  them  here  aTl  clu  I 
I  have  no  means  of  knowing  if  Mr  v  '^^^''}'^  ^hf 
ciaW  at  home-his  .eSen'yfnfphlwhro  "  Tl 
tion,  and  unostentatious  enelgt^'CttT"    '™ 

great  pJaasure  ,»  W  that  M^^Bel,:  hl'::S  1 
^ce,ved  from  lus  government  a  deserved  Sotfs!^ 

We  communicated  our  olans  t^  „.  V    o 
^ed,  as  ^      Praeticahie^Xtrourtrr^ 

,  o-r  three  little  vessetsXd  T^'t^tV:^;'  \ 
'  lowed  each  other's  leads  wnrm.  J  T   ,    .        ^®  ^®^-   ) 

-hadaU.urco„mrw,^hTfic!Ckr^^'^ 
we  were  beset  and  at  a  stand  «ifni     ^^^^"^^    ^^^n 

o.Ws  company,  J^^^^ZrCZlTt 
buntmg  and  took  long  walks  with  each  0"^ 

One. evening  I  remember  enioyinfe  I  ZLu<- , 
5n':t  ^*''.  *'•»•'"'"  "^d  ^.tnn^y^'t 

^:  .ht'^th':r:urr  ^-  c^e  "i„^«-  - 

^^^g^;^^e_h„„dred  ,nd  twe.. 


"is 


^jiQ£    M.BeHefe 


'\  „ 


excitement,  tumbled  down  twice,  and  faJd  »:; 


AT 


once. 


'%, 


j^llfV.^; 


"a^ '  ii,  .U 


4;fe 


PICTURESQUE     BERGS. 


f ' 


'     Mr.  Kennedy  hallooed  also  repeatedly,  and  discharged 
his  piece.     I  am  perhaps  warranted  in  helieving  th^ 
the  bear  heard  both  reports  before  leaving  us  to  our- 
selves, which  he  did  shortly  after  without  further  no.« 

i    tice.  .* 

This  feilure  put  us  in  the  mood  for  a  long  straight- 
•'    forward  march.    We  proceeded  due  north  to  a  region 
-    completely  encumbered  with  bergs,  thrown  off  from  a 
.  .rreait  glacier  hard  by.     About  four  miles  from  our  Brig 
they  assumed  a  picturesque  variety  of  shft|e,  rarely 
i§enm  those  found  floating  out  at  sea.     It  was  not 
sr"much  their  size  that  impressed  us— though  they 
■    were  very  large,  several  measuring  a  third  of  a  mile 
'     along  the  base— al  the  sharpness  arid  boldness  of  the 
,  •     ihies^where  they  were  caverned  and  cloven  down. 
;     '    We  attributed  some  of  this  effect  to  their  freshness 
and  recent  origin.     They  were  in  sbme  cases  so  stain- 
'  ]  f  .        ed  by  earthy  matter  as  to  show  plainly  the  different 
colors  .of  the  cliff-side  they  had  rested  on,  some  dyed 
'"  ■  with  a  burned  umber,  others  with  the  black  of  an 

.  •'  '■  augite  formation.     One  was  a  conglomerate  of  great 

'    '.  ice.bowl4ers,  stained  of  a  dark  tint,  but  cemented  to- 

gether by  iee  that  was  perfectly  clear. 

Arwither  had  the  shape  and  the  melancholy  coloring 

of  a  half-torn-down  old  mansion-house.     Some  dusky 

'       "    earths,  and  ash-looking  silt  from  the  ground-up  gneiss- 

es,  streaked  the  gable-end,  like  the  sooty  chimney. 

-    'flues;  other  ash-colored  patches  stood  for  old  plaster 

'  and  darkejned  whitewash;  and  the  base  was  choked 

,,       up.  with  piles  of  building  stone.     There  are  few  things 

to  me  more  suggestive  (rf  sentimental  moralizing,  even 

ashore,  than  these  zigzag  smoke-passages  and  cham. 
''     v.      bers  torn  open  to  the  day.     But  I  had  not  s^n  a  real 
'       ■     .       hoilfiio  for  full  fiftcon  monthB;  ftnd  this  dreamy  profile 
if  


V 


-»*;'hoes. 


439 


year's  ^ea„  temperatut  „f  il^  J^/.^^"  ^W" 

broader  caver™  ,1^^''  ''i„*:L"'"  """'"""^'^  *" 
the  echoes  were  sta   lil     A  whtl"'"'""  '°'"'"'''^- 
tie-jou.could  hardly"fco<mize  ff  '  '^k"?™  '''"''■ 
clearness  of  the  rinW-  theT       .     '"'  *'"  ''"g""  ''■•"i  ' 
running  down  the  fife!  t"^  f  "  '''""««' «"«  h'""! 
•ndwhenyrspoLT™    "' »7'''"«  "^vin  review; 

most  as  long  as  vour  brp».r        ?^™  '"  '^'Hable,  al., 
them.    I  tri!d  a  ClmeT     ^""^^  '""''  '""  *"  '°''ke\ 
.nd  it  came  Wk  toTe      ""T"^  *"  ■"""•"  <"  home,  ^ 
ance,  word  for  word      Th'eV tl''"'/'*'''*  ""- 
mine,  whom  I  rememher  !  I  '""*""  '""'^'"  "'' 

J.ys,  for  the-  di~with  ;S  ',"  ""'  ?""'-'">^ 
prayers  of  a  frosty  niltrrL,  """'''  ^"^^  ""'^ 

«.^  inrc  i?^rr » '^~- 

'i».eswith  the  atm  fpheric  If  Ah^r^'^  "'"^■ 
m  the  afternoon  the  .„n    i,  ^"'  '*'»  "'elo-^k 

-  With  thTJ^I  c  "y etr  hi  W  r  '"'"''  "' 
ftnes  see  when  it  ,-J..l         ^      ^"*  "^■""'^  ''e  some. 

»«heT  sto^L  riT  ?K  "^"'"^ """'  '■""'"g 

"Mking  for  thHntv     7.  ""t*  ""  '"«'  J°^t  been 
Acted  over  «f„»fl.''  t"*''  "^"^  '"'''"•  "  -<«    " 
m.^  ■■  J'-'Cl,            "^i  "'^  """""""y  g'een.  that  _ 
"" ■  """'  'ne  scene-painters  are 


/ 


VI 


,./■'  . 


44Q 


adVenture    in 


THE     SLUDGE. 


SO  fond  of  for  tUir  scenes  of  diablerie,  without  one  ray 
in  sympathy  with  the  cheering  verdure  of  vegetation. 
1  have  never  witnessed  the  same  effect  m  nature. 

They  were  pleasant  things  these  rambles  on  the  ice 
with  our  new  colleagues,  and  I  should  Je  sorry  to  tor- 
.  get  them ;  butithey  were  sometimes  less-^poetifial  than 
the  one  I  hav6  been  speaking  of.     There  was  a  part 
of  the  ice-field  that  extended  between  the  two  vessels, 
which  we  had  nicknamed  the  Albert  Floe.     A  part  of 
this  had  been  broken  up  by  the  swell,  and  a  space  of 
some  hundreds  of  yards  close  by  us  was  filled  up  for 
the  time  with  skreed,  forming  a  floating  platform  of 
.  tesselated  structure,  but  without  a  cement.     Mr.  Ken- 
nedy and  M.  Bellot  were  on  their  way  to  visit  us,  and 
had  just  reached  this  uncertain  pathway.     Know- 
ing  the  difficulties  they  might  encounter  in  the  tran- 
sit; and  somewhat  vain,  I  fear,  of  my  owiVice-craft  I 
took  a  boat-hook  and  startedjiff  to  meet  them     The 
ice  happened  not  to  be  convenieritly  arranged  for  my 
procuress  in  a  direct  line;  and  a^  the  best  of  times  it, 
requires  the  composure  of  a  well-balanced  mind  to\ 
make  long  leaps  from  one  slippery  fragment  to  anoth- 
er  especially  when  th?  d|^rk  water  between  is  some- 
what cold  an^  deep,     l^^as  in  a  hurry,  I  suppose;  for 
in  one  of  my  jumps  I  damaged  the  garniture  of  m^. . 
nether  limbs,  and  was  constrained, to  hait  long  enough  \l 
to  administer  some  temporary  repairs.     It  Idst  pie  a 
little  time;  but  I  jumped  along  for  some  hundred  yards 
more  and  was  soon  near  enough  to  see  JVI.  Bellot-up 
to  his  neck,  and  Mr.  Kennedy  trying  to,  fish  him  out 
with  a  boat-hook.    When  I  got  up  to  them,  which  J 
did  by  a  process  of  ferriage,  using  little  blocks  of  floe 
for  a  r^ft^M.  Bellot's  Arctic  attire  presented  an  ap- 
peaianco  strikingly  aquatic  and  uncomfortable.    AV  ith 


as  we  were  nea 


V  • 


ESQUIMj 


DOGS. 


/ 


441 


iW  world  o?  d?lZ'    or    T  "^"'^  *"  ""' 
constrained  to  sZkZ^'u  Of^^.^^H  I  am  not 

to  Mn.  the  a.ve£e;  oftheX  t\tC'  ^ " 
to  his  laugh  at  mv  exDnn...     T    "°  T    ^  '^"'"ome 

.  -cond  Le  swiLZg  l„t  i^hti "^"t'"'  ™^^ 
feared  his  dip  would  be  a  deep  .^"/i"?^':  \''^"y 
the  evidence  of  my  shipmates  thTV  I.  .""  "'"■'  ™ 
the  effect  is  unique  of  r^„l  „fV T  1'"  "  ^""P' 
ping  heels  up  o'n  an  ice^fg  „t3:L;'""V';r 
.og  up  a  third  by  the  strap  ofhis  sho  p'o'uTh       ''°"'- 

4Xnrut.rd-3ot:^ 
But  those  on  ^ii:^':^^^:  t^r'"'- 

S.11  a.  wild  as  jackals:  let  loose  uporhe  Leit  w'' 
aUnost.unpo.sible  to  catch  themCn  On'  T' 
noon,  a  little  below  the  Devil's  Th„T\  .  """• 
of  «..  Albert  were  out  ^  Ihe^'^f™'';:,'::"!,:? 
den  breeze  allowed  her  to  *ork  to  wi„W»rdS  "  J 

«d  gesture  to  ooZ't^^lT^r^f  C' ZZ^r 
savage,  though  he  stood  gazing-at  us  wiMW  !►.  ^ 

H^tohisfr  ^:::r/::^:\^Li:'z"':. 

speck  uponjre  white  floe;  a«d  afte  ward t' ij^l-. 
^  the  spy-gX^s  served,  still  with  his  he^  r^,lK^ 
^  My  thrown  back  on  bis  haunch^  1^^,^^^ 

th.-»^-^^t„„.,  ^rowU„g;  ,,.„i^^  - 


) 


.^ 


•  J*' 


kt:.. 


\ 


/ 


Hp^ 


442  ESQUIMAUX    DOGS. 

fainter  and  fainter,  for  eight  hours  after  we  left  the 

'''The  training  of  these  animals  hy  th0  natives  is  of 
the  most  un^pcious  Sort.  I  never  heard  a  kind  ac- 
cent  from  an  Esquimaux  to  his  dog.  The  drivers 
whip  of  walms  hide,  some  twenty  feet  long,  a  stone 
or  a  lump  of  ice  skillfully  directed,  an  imprecation 
loud  and  shaip,  made  emphatic  by  the  fist  or  foot,  and 
a  grudged  ration  of  seal's  meat,  make  up  the  winters 
^  entertainment  of  an  Esquimaux^team.  In,  the  sum- 
mer  the  dogs  run  at  large  arid  cater  for  themselves.     . 

I  remarked  that  there  were  comparatively  tew  ot 
them  at  Holsteinberg,  and  was  told  a  melancholy  sto- 
ry  to  account  for  it.     It'  seems  that  the  governor, 
.riest>id  fisherman  keep  goats,  veritable  goats, 
,  in  a  fire- warmed  apartment  in  winter,  and  al- 
the  rest  of  the  year  to  crop  the  grasses  of  the 
V  valleys.     Now  the  half-tutored,  unfed  Esqui- 
maux  dog  would  eat  a  goat,  bones,  skin,  and,  for  aught 
I  know,  horns.     The  diet  was  too  expensive.    It  be- 
came  a  grave  question,  therefore,  how  to  reconcile  the 
incompatibilities  of  dog  and  goat.     The  matter  wa. 
settled  very  summarily.    When  the  green  season  ot 
sunshine  and  plenty  came,  the  dogs  werd.sent  to  a 
rocky  islet,  a  sort  of  St.  Helena  estabUshmei^,  about 
a  mile  from  the  inain,  with  permission  to  Uvebv  their 
wits  •  and  the  goats  remained  to  browse  and  grdw  lat 
/at  large.     The  results  were  tragical.     The  dogs  Vere 
afflicted  with  sore  famine.     Great  life  battles  bega^; 
the  strong  keeping^^hemselves  alive  by  eating  the 
■  weak     By  thisterrible  process  of  gradual  reduction, 
the  colony  was  resolved  into  some  four  or  five  scarced 
veterans,  whose  nightly  combats  disturbed  even  the 


vexeraus,  wuuod  wigx^^xj  ^_     "^K-waiu  on  i 

milk  drinkers  at  the  settlementjumil  the  mnnant«t«    stitijte  IfBTreii] 


BSftUlJTAUX    D0O9.  443 

^!l^^  ^J^ »»  desperation,  aad  succeeded  in 

rut^ti.:r.fr^ 

sa^t^w  S''^;  ^r^'''  *^'  ^'^^^^^  ^^^  "««««■ 

sary  than  further  to  the  north.    It  is^iily  wh*  the 
winters  are  both  long  and  eta,  for  the  stJi  the 

Te  hS?  r  '**'  ™^^  "^^"  «^  temper^that 
the  Holstemberger  can  make  a  run  as  far  L  Bisoo 

ikZ  th?r".T'^-  ^°""^'  ^^"«y«'  -^i«^  «*re<^^ 

ba^  like  the  fiords  to  interior  lakes  " 

tnff   r^.r    V  ^  ''^"'*^"*  intercourse  kept  up  by 

t^tt  fnolT  t'  "'^^  ^i«««'  -»d  for  some  three 
months,  mcludmg  January  and  February,  they  are 

pernavik.     At  these  last  settlements  the  dogs  are  ex 

Z  hf  ^/T"""  «- friend,  the  coopfr  at  Pra." 
ven,  had  twenty-seven,  and  ea^h  pf  the  stalwart  sons 
ofCrisha^senhadatemoftwelm    Large  numbers 

"7  ConsTl  *'^  r  "i^^'  "^^  theirpflh  br  tT 
ren  of  Constantmople  and  the  Nile.     They  do  not 

bark:  I  distinguish  between  tl,e  bark  and  he  how 
and  they  have  not  the  intelligent  movement  of  7h« 
tai Which,  like  the  fan  of  a  4anish  S  ta  I  hdd 
to  beth  most  expressive  and  graceful  of  all  the  sub 
titutes  for  voice.  I  succ^ded,  after  a  while,  in  mak- 
ing  my  poc^  Disco  greet/me  with  her  tail  e  e^  ^ 
she  died  before  she  hadiearned  to  wag  it  ' 

bv  a  «i!;',^7T  of  draught,  the  dogs  are  fastened 
by  a  simple  brea^t-strap,  eight,  twelve,  or  even  four- 

.^^on  the^ledp.    The  long  ^hipis  the^«b^ 
stitute  for  reins:  a  sharp  hiss,  accompanied  by  the 


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■?"j-'  i^tx^-is*  J- 


444 


CHANGET'    OF    WEATHER. 


lash,  if  need  be,  is  the  signal  for  greater  ^eed ;  and  a' 
loud  "uiie  /"  calls  the  halt.  Harnessed  in  this  man- 
ner, they  will  travel  from  Uppernavik  to  Disco  in  two 
days  and  a  hal^  resting  at  night;  and  for  shorter 
stages,  as,  for  instance,  between  Proven  and  Upper- 
navik,  thirty-two  miles  of  actual  route,  they  have  made 
fourteen  miles  ah  hour.  The  recent  explorations  of 
Mr.  Kennedy  have  shown  how  valuable  their  services 
can  be  made  to  an  exploring  party. 

The  weather  underwent  a  striking  change  oh  the 
thirteenth.    The  ice-studded  sea,  so  indefinitely  ex- 
tended  by  refraction  that  a  poet  might  have  likened 
it  to  a  turkois  set  with  pearls,  took  a  new  charac- 
ter.    A  strange,  palpable  obscurity,  wreathing  up  in 
long  strata  to  the  northward,  gradually  wrapped  itself 
over  every  thing.    The  wator  grew  intensely  black 
beneath  us,  and  vague  and  smoky  as  it  receded.    The 
ice-floes  that  used  to  cut  so  sharply  against  it  were 
now  lumps  of  whiteness  without  margin,  and  the 
bergs,  always  massive  and  monumental,  flared  up  in 
distorted  magnitude  like  white  shadows.    Every  thing, 
in  short,  grew  blurred  and  uncertain.    The  wild  fowl 
seemed  to  leave  a  streak  behind  them  as  they  cleaved 
the  misty  atmosphere ;  and  from  the  little  circle  of 
water,  still  visible  around  us,  the  wake  of  our  brig 
was  prolonged  like  a  tongue.    These  appearances  an- 
nounced the  southeaster,  the  wind,  of  all  others,  the 
most  fruitful,  at  this  time  of  the  year,  of  meteorological 
changes.     It  was,  besides,  a  leading  wind  for  our  re- 
turn  to  the  North  Water. 


■%. 


i:^'  ■•"^'1 


CHAPTER  XL VIII. 

I OTOHT  perhaps,  as  a  book-maker,  to  go  on  with  a 
d.ary  of  „„  second  progress  toward  the  ^north     But 
my  work  .s  almost  done.     New  excitements   more 
kmdred  to  my  habits  than  those  of  authorJh  p  D' 
urgmg  me  while  I  arrange  these  pages  for°he  L" 

:  oTf.rthrhXt:^;"''"'"-'^--''^ 

i«^^f":^pi^:^:tr^i--rj; 

day  forced  on  us.  In  the  whole  month  we  made  but 
thrrtyseven  mrles.  Yet  we  had  no  lack  of  Incidents 
»me  of  them  novel,  and  some  not  without  mo  e  st  r 
nng  mterest.  But  the  scenery  of  the  bergs  majestio 
.nd  vaned  as  it  was,  began  to'  weary  us.^v^  1 
h<^ards  of  our  narrow,  and  tortuous,  and  alrnoslcr  ti 
»  navgatjon  became  things  of  us'e;  and  when  we 
found  ourselves  at  rest,  as  we  did  sometimes  ,ah  Zi 

:rh»r'^™^'-»^-'™«''.-~L^^ 

After  a  while^  the  leads  opened  close  into  the  sBor*' 
»d  we  followed  them  almost  to  the  base  of  the  S' 
From  this  positron  the  indentations  and  occa^iona  de." 
^sions  of  the  coast  enabled  us  to  see  into  the  coun. 
try  to  a  considerable  distance. 

whit  T  tf"  ^^'°*^  ""^'  *■■«  »»^"'»  Thumb,  of 
which^I  have  given  several  sketohes,  stands  in  the  re 

«s,  of  a  curve,  of  which  Wilco«  Point  forts  a  hel 

kftv  w  !  tZT  '*'  '""»«'i«te  neighborhood  is  not 
Jofty,  butjotted.her«  and  there  with-ha]^tti„g  ort— 


r^ 


446 


ARCTIC    glaciers: 


through  massive  glaciers.  At  thes  northern  swee^  of 
the  indentation  this  ice- wall  hecomes  more  imposing; 
and  in  front  of  it  we  found  a  progeny  of  bergs,  crowd- 
ed together  so  close  that  we  could  not  coiint  them. 

These  glaciers,  thouglj.:  differing  widely  in  form  from 
their  pinnacled  brethren  of  the  Alps,  have  an  impos- 
ing character  of  their  own.  So  far  as  ^dimensions  go, 
the  entire  mer  de  glace  might  tispose  on  the  slope  of 
this  single  ice-hill,  and  ^letsch  in  one  of  its  ravines. 
Indeed,  the  whole  country  between  the  t^o  abutting 
headlands,  and  extending  back  aft  far  as  the  eye  could 
r^ach,  was  filled  up  with  oAe  grand  frozen  mass,  so 
that  the  sea  and  its  open  fipfrds  seemed  scarcely  gate- 
ways  enough  for  the  mighty  reservoir  to  pour  forth  its 
bergs.  The  length  of  this  curve  was  estimated  by  Mr. 
Murdaugh  at  eighteen  miles;  but  the  ice  exterided 
many  miles  further  along  the  coast  without  change., . 

We  could  not  wonder,  after  this,  at  the  enormous 
quantities  of  bergs  which  lay  before  us.  At  the  es- 
carped base  of  the  glacier  the^were  jammed  and  juta- 
bled  together  in  every..varkBfc|f  confusion ;  some  of 
the  mountain  character  wiJ|Piich  we  were  fainiliar, 
others  a  congeries  of  ruljjiisli,  and  illustrating  eveijy 
possible  condition  of  libnation.  All  three  vessels  were 
in  a  cul  de  sac  of  floe-cemented  bergs,  and  were  obliged 
to  tie  up  and  wait  upon  their  movements. 

The  Alpine  glaciers  have  engrossed,  it  seems  to  me, 
the  field  of  scientific  dissertation  somewhat  unduly. 
Those  which  crowd  the  western  coast  0f  Greenland 
have  perhaps  a  higher  interest ;  growii^  up,  as  they 
do,  in  a  climate  which  is  independeQt  bf  altitude,  be- 
sides being  altogether  superior  in  mtfg^itude  of  scale, 

The  southernmost  cape  of  this  so-ca^Ued  peninsula  is 
nearly  iii  the  latitude  of  59°,  some  500  miles  aoUth  of 


♦  THEIR    SITE. 


447 


tt^rctujjcircle.  This  termination,  which,  like  Good 
Hope  and  Comonn,  illustrates  Foster's  law  of  South- 
trending  p^ninstfl^s,  is  abrupt  nt^  precipitous.  The 
i^u^s  of  the  surrounding  sJ^  t^itsc^^^ 
an  insular  character,  and  seem  to  prevent  any  great 
glacier  accumulation.  /  s  ««■«< 

As  we  travel,  however,  to  the  north,  those  great  in. 
dentations  kno  a^  the  Fiords,  which  penetrate  the 
metamorphic  ndges  at  right  angles  to  their  long  axes, 
erve  as  conduits  to  the  interior  ice.  The  settlement^ 
at  Baal's  River  and  Godhaab,  the  earliest  inhabited 
upon  the  coast,  and  near  the  region  of  the  aucient  Ice- 

irnSlTr''  ^7  *^'  '""*'  °^^^^^^  ^^'-    These 
do  not  abut  directly  upon  the  sea;  but,  aTfar  as  mv 

mquiries  extended,  issue  in  trougte  th^  enter  the 

fio  ds  from  the  north  and  south,  and  ^  conne-led 

with  those  great  reservoirs,  or  mers  d^  glace,  which 

Th:^i'''^x^'  ^^^"^^  *^^  -^--  -tet. 

The  North  and  South  Stromfiords,  about  Holsteinberg 
receive  similar  glaciers;, and  the  annual  hunts  for  the 
remdeer,  which  seem  to  have  carried  the  Esquimaux 
back  from  the  coa^t,  have  disclosed  grei^t>asses  of 
ice,  at  whose  ba^es  the  animals  escapinTfrom  the 
musquitoes  fall  an  easjr  prey  to  the  hunter. 
;•  When  we  reach  the  latitude  of  69°,  where  the'green. 
stone  dikes  begin  to  modify  the  gneissoid  character  of 
the  ranges,  the  glaciers  approach  more  nearly  to  the 
actual  coast     The  crystalline  schists,  however,  con- 
Imue  with  lo%  headlands  as  far  ^as  Wilcox  Pomt  • 
and  it  was  only  here,  where  ,the  mean  level  of  the 
coa«t  seemed  to  be  reduced,  that  the  great  glacier    ' 
properly  Speaking,  began.  \  ^         ^ 

Taking  a  headland  near  Wilcox  Point,  which  was 
^WHtobefifteen  hundred  feet  above  tfee  level  of  the    _: 


448 


OLACIEKS: 


sea,  arid  sweeping  round  to  another  headland  of  simi- 
lar  elevation,  we  made  a  rude  approximation  to  the 
height  of  the  glacier  between :  it  was  about  seven  hund- 
red feet  at  the  coast-line.  FolMwin^  it  back  from  the 
sea  with  an  excellent  Fraunhofer  telescope,  we  could 
see  it  rising  slowly  by  a  gradual  talus  till  it  was  lost 
in  the  distance.  Its  undulations  over  the  buried  coun- 
try, which  it  overlaid  like  a  great  tombstone,  were 
marked  by  considerable  diversity  of  surface.  They 
were  occasionally  furrowed  by  ravines,  indicating  wa- 
ter action ;  and  in  these,  wherever  the  cliffs  protruded, 
a  long  earthen  stain,  garnished  probably  with  detrited 
rubbish,  extended  down  like  the  lines  of  a  moraine. 
Sometimes  the  surface  was  smooth, and  unmarred ;  but 
more  commonly,  and  especially  on  the  |aces  of  more 
abrupt  descent,  I  recognized  the  crevasse  character 
which  I  have  noted  in  the  bergs.  I  also  observed  es- 
carpments of  ice  in  some  instances,  great  mural  faces, 
beyond  which  the  glacier  was  continued  again ;  but 
these  were  rare. 

The  general  color  of  the  glacier,  like  that  of  the 
berg,  was  a  dead  white,  varipd  only  a  little  by  alterna- 
tions  of  light  and  shadow;  and  through  this  the  higher 
land  peaks  rose  like  dark  knobs.  In  two  places  I  no- 
ticed a  land  spur,  extending  at  right  angles  tO  the 
axis  of  the  chain  until  it  reached  the  sea,  and  thrust- 
ing itself  boldly  through  the  ice  to  the  water-line, 
flanked  on  each  side  by  the  glacier  face. 

I  thought  too,  though  my  observations  with  the 
fflass  wer^  too  rude  to  assure  me  of  their  correctness, 
that  I  could  trace,  in  the  general  configuration  of  this 
great  ice-surface,  delta-like  divisions,  such  as  might 
be  induced  by  surface  streams  expanding  and  divari- 
cating a^  they  approached  the  sea.     In  fact,  hosts  of 


■&. 


THEIB  >UBSTANCE. 


449 


geological  analogies  suggested  themselves,  which  I  do 
«ot  venture  to  enlarge  upon.    It  was  evident  that  the 

te  waw'  ''°"^™'«"«">  "or*  diffused,  and  that 

the  water  gorges  were  more  ramiform 

ruptly,  presentmg  to  escarped  fa™  with  nearly  verti- 
cal  ftactnre  and  varying  in  perpendicular  heighTI 
cording  to  the  profile  of  the  protruding  m^     Th^ 

aTdTcfd  f  tr"1*^"""'°''^»'P»-*-"^- 
.  and  decided ;  the  only  departure  from  its  regular  con. 

tinuity  being  at  the  gorges  I  have  just  refeS^d  to  o 

at^cleanly-out  chasms,  referable  apparently  to  di^'u" 

ri.'jT'  *'''°''.*^  substance  of  the  Greenland  gla- 
cier  differs  materially  from  tl,at  of  the  Alpine.  A  tfl 
ment,  examined  by  the  microscope,  exhibits  the  same 
vesicular  structure ;  and  it  breaks  into  numerous  pietr 
whose  separation  isdetermi„edbytheircapillary'^tr„:' 
ture_  This  fragmentary  composition  of  the  glaiier  ice 
enables  you  to  walk  on  it  without  slipping.  ^  Its  co  or 
«  barely  translucent,  and  at  a  distant  ^  op^ue  1 
«««.  sjlver.  It  is  only  where  cracks  or  ch2  hav^ 
been  filled  by  waters  and  frozen  up  afterward,  that  we 
have  a  truly  transparent  ije. 

I  have  exainined  the  n«v6,  which  forms  so  interest. 
"«  a  feature  in  the  study  of  glaciers,  only  once  .Tsl^ 
Tins  wa«  at  the  small  glacier  north  rf  76o,  where  thU 

But  for  the  partial  cementation  of  its  particles,  and  a 
grain-like  character  which  could  be  detected  on  dos^ 
examination,  I  should  have  regarded  it  a.  a  mere  r 
cumulation  of  snow-drift. "^ 


.^ 


I   * 


4.'50 


GLACIERS. 


" 


^  The  change  of  the  Arctic  sno|w8  int6.n6v6  or  lirn 
might  be  the  subject  of  interesting  examination.  Even 
the  surface  drifts  of  our  winter  icej-floes  underwent  this 
granular  transformation  rapidly.  After  tossing  about 
as  a  dry  and  almost  impalpable  powder  during  the 
long  Polar  winter,  the  returning  sun,  with  its  alterna- 
tions of  thaw  and  congelation,  developed  a  grain-like 
or  almost  beaded  structure.  I  have  seen  these  crys- 
talline pellets  as  large  as  a  cherry-stone,  diminishing 
down  to  the  size  of  shot  or  mustard-seed. 

The  Polar  gl§fiieT,  as  may  be  seen  clearly  when  it 
has  taken  the  berg  form,  is  commonly  coated  over 
with  this  modified  snow,  a^id  its  valleys  and  minor 
depressions  are  often  filled  ^ith  it  by  drift-laction.  I 
have  noted  by  sections  stra\ta  of  fifteen  and  twenty 
feet,  whose  composition  was  ^tirely  analogous  to  the 
firn  of  the  Alps.  It  may  hav^  been  by  observing  por- 
tions of  the  berg  like  this,  tha^  Professor  Forbes  was 
led  to  the  assertion  that  the  iceberg  is  com]»osed  not 
of  true  ice,  but  of  neve. 

That  the  Polar ^ftciers  obey  the  same  law  ( 
ment  as  their  Alpine  brethren,  I  have  seen 
to  doubt.  The  advance  of  the  glacial  faces  a|t  Jacobs' 
Harbor,  of  which  Mr.  Olrik  informed  me,  is  the  only 
direct  fact  which  I  can  add  to  those  already  [noted  on 
this  subject.  But  the  very  circumstance  of  |their  oflF- 
casts,  the  bergs,  being  so  numerous,  seems  tc|  indicate 
a  continuously  protruding  influence.  It  may  be  that 
in  the  more  southern  settlements  of  Greeriland  this 
advance  is  limited  by  atmospheric  causes; /but  I  am 
strongly  inclined  to  believe  that  in  those  furj;her  north, 
the  debacle  or  berg  disgorgement  is  the  mos^  powerful 
countervailing  agent. 

It  would  be  presumptuous,  with  my  verV  meagre 


of  move- 


reason 


*■'    A. 


i 


BENDING     ICE. 


451 


data,  to  theorize  as  to  the  causes  of  this  progression, 
or  to  become  the  advocate  of  any  one  view  to  the  ex. 
elusion  of  others.     But  I  confess  that  my  observations 
of  the  bergs,  and  of  the  ice-fields  of  our  winter-pack, 
point  to  the  viscous  or  gelid  flow  of  Professor  Forbes.' 
The  definition  of  a  solid  is  at  best  comparative ; 
and  I  have  had  abundant  proofs  that  ice,  even  at  very 
low  temperatures,  undergoes  molecular  changes  which 
modify  its  external  configuration  very  largely.     On 
the.  20th  of  March,  \vhile  we  were  imbedded  in  the 
floe,  with  a  temperature  many  degrees  below  zero,  one 
of  those  great  convulsions  called  hummocking  had 
thrown  up  a  table  eight  feet  in  thickness  by  twenty 
odd  in  width,  and  in  sucll  a  position  that  it  was  only 
sustained  by  masses  of  ice  at  its  two  extremities.    In 
the  month  of  May,  the  thermometer  never  having  risen 
in  the  interval  to  within  many  degrees  of  the  freezing. 
^fo'mt,  I  saw  th,e  same  ice-table  completely  bent  down, 
its  centre  depressed  -five  feet,  until  arrested  in  its  de-' 
scent  by  a  new  support.* 


This  beautiful  illustration  of  the  semi-solid  charac 
ter  of  the  ice  during  the  depths  of  a  Polar  winter,  when 

— *-See  the  drawings  of  this  ice-table  on  page  389:  - 


i  )] 


452 


GLACIERS. 


its  tenacity  more  resembled  glass  or  granite  tjian  the 
familiar  ice  at  home,  was  not  a  solitary  one.  The  pre- 
ceding sketch  will  exhibit  an  equally  marked  curva- 
ture in  a  larger  mass,  where  the  gravitating  pressure 
was  applied  at  the  two  extremities. 

Contorted  ices,  natural  bridges,  and,  as  the  season 

advanced,  nodding,  pen- 
dulous,  stalactitic  hum- 
mocks, were  not  unfre- 
quent.  These  had  a  dou- 
ble interest,  as  bearing 
not  only  on  the  plastici- 
ty of  ice,  but  on  the  in- 
fluence  which  temperature  exerts  upon  its  condition  at 
points  below  that  of  congelation,  32°. 

I  have  already  described  the  only  glacier  which  I 
had  an  opportunity  of  surveying.  It  reminded  me  of 
La  Brenva ;  and  although  I-  overlooked  the  ribboned 
structure,  riot  having  seen  then  the  detailed  work  of 
Professor  Forbes,  I  recollect  that  it  had  the  peculiar 
scalloped  shell  summit,  which  he  has  regarded  as  il- 
lustrative of  mechanical  advance.    , 

It  was  from  the  icebergs,  however,  that  formed  so 
characteristic  a  feature  of  the  sceue  before  us,  that  we 
derived  our  best  idea  of  the  glaciers  from -which  they 
had  come.  To  the  eye  they  presented  almost  infinite 
diversity ;  but  it  required  very  little  generalization  to 
reduce  them  all  to  a  few  simple  primary  forms. 

Thus  the  vertical  fracture  of  the  glacier,  which 
would  indicate  the  formation  of  a  berg  by  debacle, 
would  divide  the  mass  into  parallelopipedons  or  other 
rudely  symmetrical  solids ;  and  where  the  surface  of 
the  original  plateau  was  parallel  to  its  base,  the  de- 
tached  mass  would  float  evenly  upon  the  waters,  a 


FORMS    OF    BERGS. 


'453 


great  table-land  with  perpendicular  sides.  --This  was 
the  most  frequent  form  of  the  bergs,  and  the  most  im- 

InT^A     ^  measured  some  that  were  thirteen 

hundred  yards  on  a  single  face 

whl"h  *^'  iJ"f,°^«^*  «^*h«  &l«^ier  to  the  country  on 
winch  iris  built  generaUy  prevents  such  a  symmet- 
rical equilibnum.  One  or  another  of  its  great  sides 
Will  be  inclined  toward.the  water,  destroying  the  vert 

sloping  hill  rising  from  the  sea.  Over  bergs  of  this 
form,  and  they  also  were  very  numerous,  4  walked 
as  over  a  terrestrial  surfaoe,  met  by  every  diversity  of 
configuration,  valleys,  gorges,  hills,  ^plains,  and  preci- 

plC6S* 

A  third  form,  so  abnormal  as  to  characterize  a  class, 
but  at  the  same  time  comparatively  rare,  was  that  of 
a  mass,  which,  probably  by  continued  avalanche  mo- 
tion,  had  acquired  such  an  irregular  form,  such  a  dis- 
proportion,  perhaps,  between  its  width  and  depth,  that 
Its  centre  of  gravity,  as  it  fell,  wa^.not  within  the  sub- 
merged mass.  Its  equilibrium  , was  therefore  uncer- 
tain,  and  its  side  sometimes  what  had  beeh  at  first  its 
surface. 

With  some  exceptions,  the  different  forms  of  the 
berg  could  be  deriv^rom  these;  their  subsequent 
changes  being  depeffct  on  atmospheric  or  aqueous 
erosion,  or  both,  or  on  accidental  fractures,  and  on 
changes  of  equilibrium  consequent  on  the  others. 
These  la^t  were  productive  of  the  most  eccentric  diver- 
sities. Great  Ungues,  which  had  become  cavernous 
under  the  action  of  the  waves,  would  rise  bristling  into 
the  upper  air;  and  gnarled  peaks,  stained  with  the 
silt  through  which  they  had.  plowed,  cut  in  darkened 
pinnacles  against  the  sky,;  1 


f 


^ 


V 


4-54 


BBRUS. 


k 


There  was  one  great  monster,  That  we  called  the 
Tower  of  Babel,  nearly  three  hundred  feet  high,  with 
a  spiral  stair-case  as  unsatisfactory  as  some  of  Martin's 
imaginings  of  infrflterrene  architecture.  Another  was 
an  enormous  honey-combed-  mass,  studded  aU  oyer 
with  bowlders,  and  staged  .with  syenitic  detritus. 


But  curious  among  all  the  rest  was  the  berg,  of 
which  a  Bketch  is  given  on  the  opposite  j^agd.  It 
was  but  partially  overturned,  and  thp  exposed  sur- 
face was  marked  all  over  by  cit|?ular  depressions,  ten 
inches  deep  and  a  fo«t  in  diameter,  so  close  together 
as  nearly  to  touch  at  their  upper  edges.  A  small- 
er berg  was  so  covered  with  these  spot-like  excae:' 


« 


8TDDDED  .SEROS. 


455* 


vatioYis,  and  had  wjthal  so  strik- 
ing  a  form,  thait  it  could  have  no 
other  nickname  but-  the  Giraffe. 
In .  my  efforts  to  arrive  at  the 
.  cause  of  this  strange  leprosy,  I 
•  q^jce  only, found  the  bottoH*  of  th,e: 
catties  filled  with  slimydiotom'a- 
©eous  life.     It  is  possible  that  a^ 
vit&r  action  had  determined  this 
.  Jocal'  thawing  ;  but  its  symmet- 

noal character  still  remains  a  puzzle. 
.    It  was  very  interesting  to  follow  these  secondary 
lorms  m  their  qhanges.     Nothing  can  be  more  impos- 
ing  than  the  rotation  of  a  berg.     I  have  often  watched 
on^,  rookmg  its  earth-stained  sides  in  steadily-deepen- 
mg  curves,  as  if  to  gathe^  energy-for  some  desperate: 
gymnastic  feat  ^and  then  turning  itself  slowly  over  in  ' 
a  monster  somerset,  and  vibrating  as  its  head  rose  into 
the  new  element,  lijce  a  leviathan  shaking  the  water 
Irom  Its  crest.     It  was  iijipossible  not  to  have  sugges- 
tions  thrust  upon  me  of  their-lagency  in  i<nodifying  the 
-geological  disposition  of  the  earth's  surface. 

We  yre  in  an  archipelago  of  stranded  ^nd  of  mov- 
ing  bergs.     In  some  that  had  undergone  this  change 


of  equilibrium,  thejvalleys  wfire  studded  with  irregu* 
l^ly  angular  and  rounded  joeks, -aad  ar  detrital  paste 


m 


^^ 


456 


IMBEDDED    BERGS. 


resembling  till.  In  such  cases,  the  deeply  imbedded 
position  of  the  larger  fragments  spoke  of  their  having 
been  there  from  the  qriginal  structure  of  the  berg, 
while  the  paste  seemed  to  have  been  upturned  after- 
ward from  the  bottom  through  which  the  b^pf^had 
furrowed  its  w^y ;  the  occasional  excess  of  both  being 
due,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  to  atmospheric  action. 
The  preceding  sketch  shows  the  disposition  of  these 
fragments  sufficiently  well.  They  consisted  of  syen- 
ites, gneisses,  rounded  quartzes,  green-stones,  and  clay 
slates ;  in  fact,  of  all  the  characteristic  rocks  of  our 
Plutonic  coast-lin6.  In  a  single  instance,  I  found  a 
piece  of  well-marked  actinolite,  eight  inches  in  diam- 
eter, surrounded  by  crumbled  chlorites  and  serpentines. 

In  the  primary  forms  of 
berg,  the  disposition  of  the 
transported  material  did 
not  seem  to  be  detetmined 
by  any  law.  Sometimes, 
but  rarely,  I  could  follow 
moraine  traces,  or  rather 
lines  indicating  deposits 
from  contiguous  cliflfs ;  but 
generally  the  fragment 
seemed   to   be   cemented 


*CRVSTALLODIlOMES. 


457 


mto  the  glacier  from  the  talus  of  some  descending  slope 
iZ^JTfr  T  "  "'^^^  ^"^^  fragmen":  had 

Vact?^^^^^^  '^T*"  *^"*  ^^^«"^«  ^-  r-ent 

acture.    They  were  either  complete  bowlders,  or  par- 
tially rounded,  as  in  the  two  preceding  sketch;!"^ 

The  influences  of  the  berg 
as  a  raft  in  the  translation 
of  masses  of  rock,  with  their 
Accompanying  paste,  may  be 
inferred  to  some  extent  from 


©  facts  I  have  thus  hastily 


fown  together.  Of  near- 
ly  five  thousand  bergs  which 
I. have  seen,  there  was,  perl 

,^„x  .     .  haps,  not  one  that  did  not 

oontem  fragmentary  rock.     A  walk  over   the  be^,^  . 

ded  m  their  slopes,  or  m  the  form  of  pebbles  and  still 
smaller  fragments,  penetrating  in  cylindrical* cavite   ^ 
deep  mto  the  substance  of  the  berg. 


seel^JT  ""^il'P'''*  T'  '^"'^  "^""'^  "^^^ked  than  it 
«eems  to  have  been  m  the  glaciers  of  the  Alps.     The 

^^^^^-^==^7  7"  constant  daylight,  without  in- 

— ^I~~  terruption  of  solar  influence, 

,  rand  the  absence  of  radiation 

dunng  the  night,  w,ll  expjam  thjs.  _l  have  seen  the. 

-urtace  of  a  berg  completely  covered,  for  perhaps  a 


Q 


«'^- 


458 


BERGS. 


couple  of  acres,  with  the  orifices  of  these  perforatinjr 
crystallodromes. 

We  did  not  often  meet  with  the  pinna- 
cled character,  which  is  so  frequent  in  the 
Alps ;  a  fact  which  may  he  due,  perhaps, 
to  the  ahsence  of  the  alternate  freezing  and 
thawing  which  attend  the  alternation  of  day 
and  night. 

When  the  berg  was  nearly  melted  down  to  the  wa- 
ter's edge,  the  acfcumulation  was  more  apparent,  and 
the  arrangement  of  drift  upon  its  surface  resembled 
that  which  the  sketches  I  subjoin  were  intended  to 
indicate.  ■, 


y> 


The  berg  is  beyond  all  doubt  a  most  important 
agent  in  modifying  the  soundings  upon  the  coast.  The 
grounded  bergs  off  Disco  are  known  to  leave  troughs, 
plowed  by  their  projecting  tongues,  as  they  float  and 
ground  with  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  tides.  Where  the 
bottom  is  of  mud  and  till,  as  is  the  case  on  the  west 
coast  generally,  this  action  must  be  very  marked ;  for 
on  a  berg  I  surveyed  trigonometrically  in  July,  which 
had  grounded  in  soundings  of  five  hundred  and  twen- 
ty feet,  the  great  tap.root  that  anchored  it  to  the  bot- 
tom admitted  of  an  easy  rotation,  and  the  berg  swung 
upon  its  axis  with  each  change  of  the  tide.  That 
such  great  tongues,  though  irregular  in  their  shape, 
do  in  fact  rock  and  rotate  with  the  movements  of 
the  berg,  might  be  inferred,  indeed,  from  the  facettes 


that  are  worn  on  the  imbedded  material;  many  of 


') 


THEIR     GEOLOGICAL     INFLUENCES.  459 

Which  are  disposed  about  a  convexity  of  uniform  curv. 

We  are  to  remember  besides,  in  coaridering  the  ee. 
ologioal  eccentricities  which  are  to  be  referred  7„  ^ 
actjon  of  i^terp,  the  immense  quantito"  f  feel" 
-material  which  I  have  spoken  of  a^discoloml  TX 
uig  so  many  of  the-bergs  of  Omen.t  n,?  j  i 
Melville  Bov     Ti,       ■  "-"nenak,  Ovinde,  and , 

of  tons  allof  th^T  -■"*T''  "« '"'»«°y  ■»"«<»» 
Iks  to  LI        .  ^"""^  """  «'"'»«■>*»  of  gneissoid 
rocks  to  be  deposited  itf  distant  localities.    A  refer 
ence  to  my  current  chart  will  show  that  they  pass  te 

tte  bat     r^*'™  «•"«*'  Porfo™  the  entire  circuit  of. 
tne  bay.    The  extensive  reaches  of  shoals,  which  are 

CarKafer'     "TV  ""^  '=°'^'  ''""^  Pond  Bay  to 
Cape  Kater,  ma,y  be  due  to  this  character  of  berg-drift 

oound  must,  I  suppose,  be  referred  to  it  alsif. 


BOWLOSRS  IN  ICBBIBO. 


n 


/^ 


ilMOIlO  THB  BEBGR,  MELVILL'V  BAY. 


CHAPTER  XLIX. 

I  RETURN  from  this  long  digression  to  my  iifarratlve.<^ 
In  the  night  of  the  15th  of  July  a  mist  cleared  away 
that  had  inclosed  us  for  some  days,  ^nd  the  attnosphere 
had  the  pellucid  clearness  of  the  Tropics  aftSer  a  rain. 
We  then  saw  hoijt  completely  surrounded  wis  were  by 
bergs.  We  had  made  fast,  on  the  shore  side,  to  one 
of  magisterial  proportions,  that  had  anchored  itself  in 
the  floe.  As  we  looked  coastWard,  others  |still  closer 
in  were  so  piled  up  against  the  land  that  it  was  im- 
possible to  separate  them :  a  jagged  wall  of  ice  con- 
trasting with  the  hills  beyond  was  all  that  could  be 
'  seen.  To  seaward,  I  counted  seventy-three  within  the 
visual  angle.  \ 

As  the  tide  ebbed,  the  s^me  phenomena  of  drift  which 
had  startled  us  last  year  in  Melville  Bay  were  renew- 
ed.     The  floes  were  choked  in  around  us,  so  as  to  pre- 


rent  the  possibility  of  warping  from  our  position ;  and 


i.    :.M 


,-':!ii^;bi^V'^:/i^^^Bp^-i^£^~-^ 


MARCH     OF     THE     BERGS. 


461 


the/kir/gly  bergs  began  their  impressive  marcH.  Our 
^n6horkge  seemed  to  be  a  fixed  centre,  influencing  the 
g^eraj  tidal  streams.  The  set  of  the  surface]ice  was 
ra^pid  to  the  south;  but  where  it  struck  against  our 
i^tanfl  safeguard,  the  counter-stream  worked  tts  way 
JW|rd  the  shore.  i  1 

C,In  ihe  midst  of  this  combination  offloe-moiements, 
t^e^tjde  changed,  and  the  inshore  bergs  begai  to  bear 
^w4  upon  us,  moving  steadily  against  tU  surface 
,durr^nt,  and  nearly  Against  the  wind.    One  fef  these 
Wf  qiJadrangular  form,^  with  a  back  like  a  t^ble-land' 
and  in  bulk  more  than  equal  to  two  such  asfour  own' 
advanced  from  the  recesses  of  the  land  at  tie  rate  of 
a  krtot  an  hour,  crumbling  all  opposing  floes^^  before  it. 
Mr.  Murdaugh  and  myself  had  accomplish^  a  some- 
whalt   arduous  journey   over   the    ice  to    the    Prince 
Albert.     We  returned  just  as  the  two  bergs  ierc  about 
to  hieet,  crushing  our  little  vessels  to  atoms  in  their 
embrace.     It  was  a  sight  to  make  "  the  bravest  hold 
his  breath;"  more  fearful  by  much  than  any  whose 
peril  we  had  shared.     But  we  doubled  a  projecting 
cr|ig ;  and  it  was  past.     Just  as  the  drifting  berg  was 
about  impinging  on  the  other,  it  yielded  a  very  little  to 
spme  inexplicable  counter-drift;  moVed  slowly  round 
on  Its  axis  to  the  northward;  and,  passirfg  within  fifty 
yards,  of  the  brigs,  continued  its  majestic  progress  di- 
rectly m  the  wind's  eye.     It  was  a  narrow  escrfpe:  tU  ■ 
Rescue  was  heeled  over  considerably  by  the  floes  which 
were  forced  in  upon  her,  driving  in  her  port  bulwarks 
and  demohshmg  her  monkey-rail. 

The  same  fearful  scene  was  renewed  the  next  day 
A  second  quadrangle  stood  out  from  the  shore  at  the 
^me  rat^  as  the  other,  and  had  approached  within— 


^oft^iscuifccaet,  when  a  deep,  protruding  tongue,  al- 


i:< 


462 


THE, SEASON    GOING. 


togetlXinvisible  trf  us,  opposed  itself  against  our  ad- 
vancing  eiiemy,  and  with  a  shock  that  vibrated  to  our 
very  centre  brought  him  up.  Why  does  not  the  at- 
traction of  these  masses  bring  and  retain  them  in  ap- 
position  ?  Collisions  between  bergs  are  certainly  rare; 
and  my  own  experience,  corroborated  by  the  results  of 
much  inquiry  among  the  Greenlanders  and  the  fisher- 
men,  se^ms  to  say  that  a  union  between  two  bergs, 
except  when  one  is  aground— an  exception  on  which 
I  lay  some  stress— is  almost  unknown. 

A  few  days  after  the  scene  I  have  described,  we 
neared  our  hated  landmark  of  last  season,  the  Devil's 
Thumb.  But  here  the  leads  closed ;  and  our  labyrinth 
of  bergs  attended  us  still,  clogging  our  way,  and  wea- 
rying us  with  their  monotony.  Our  commander  had 
but  one  thought,  and  we  all  sympathized  in  it— how 
could  oiir  little  squadron  regain  its  position  at  the 
searching  grounds?  We  had  otherwise  no  lack  of 
incidents.  There  Were  parhelia,  intricate  ones,  with 
six  solar  images  and  eccentric  circles  of  light,  one  of 
which  had  its  circumference  passing  through  the  sun. 
And  we  had  bear  hunts  now  and  then  of  mothers  and 
cubs  together ;  and  sometimes  we  shot  at  a  flock  of 

birds.  «  ITT 

But  the  spirit  of  the  hunt  had  left  us.  We  were 
close  upon  the  middle  of  August.  Less  than  four 
weeks  remained  for  us  to  get  rid  of  this  vexatious  en- 
tanglement,  press  on  through  Lancaster  Sound,  com- 
piete  our  explorations  in  Wellington  Channel,  and  re- 
turn  to  the  open  waiter  of  the  bay.  It  was  before  the 
middle  of  September  that  we  had  been  frozen  m  last 
year.  And  here  we  were  in  a  perfect  ice-trap,  unable 
..^to  win  an  inch  of  progress. 


1 


We  were  without  the  Albert  too.     As  long  ago  as 


GOOU-BY     TO     THK     ALBERT. 


463 


the  fifth, her  g,K)d  folkn  had- determined  to  mukelouth 
despairing  of  success  in  a  northward  effort;  and  L  the 
eleventh  while  we  were  yet  attached  to  the  oldlland- 
floe,  she  found  her  way  to  an  open  lead,  and  Lan- 
peared  on  the  thirteenth.  We  could  ha  dly  ta  k  o'f 
the  egrets  we  all  felt  at  losing  them.  It  seem.d  to 
me  hat  for  days  after  1  could  hear  their  broken 
hearted  little  hand-organ  grinding  "The  Garb  of  Old 

Bible,  Bellots  French  treatises,    Cowrie'7  Shet  land 


OOOD-BY  TO  THI   mmci  4l„„,  NKLV.LLK  BAT. 


^^e  perhaps  thought  of  their  departure  the  more 

because  it  implied  something  of  uncertainty  as  to  ou; 

own  fate.     They  had  avowedly  left  us,  fearless  and 

Anterprismg  as  they  wor^,  to  escape  from  hazards  that 

we  were  continuing  to  brave.     Mr.  Leask,  their  vet- 


^ 


464 


CRISIS     APPROACHINO. 


oran  ice-master,  thought,  when  he  left  us,  that  if  we 
followed  the  northern  leads  there  >vas  almost  a  cer- 
tainty of  our  being  caught,  like  the  Swan,  and  the 
York,  and  a  host  of  others  before  us.  A  pleasant  neigh- 
borhood, truly !  Here  perished  the  ships  of  '47.  Here 
the  North  Star  was  beset  in  '48 ;  hereabout,  the  year 
before  last,  the  Lady  Jane,  and  the  Superior,  and  the 
Prince  of  Wale« ;  and,  coming  to  our  own  experience 
of  last  year,  here  it  was,  in  this  very  devil's  hole, 
that  we  wore  out  our  three  weeks'  imprisonment. 

Moreover,  the  season  was  more  advanced  than  last 
Cyear's  had  been.  The  thermometer,  which  stood  at 
noon  in  the  shade  at  54°,  isunk  in  the  evening  hours 
to  30°.  At  such  a  temperature  the  ice  forms  rapidly 
on  the  deeply  chilled  water,  and  the  day  sun  barely 
melts  it.  We  began  to  observe  too  flocks  of  the  little 
Auk  streaming  south,  as  if  to  harbinger  a  change  of 
season.  It  was  evident  that  a  verjf  few  days  must 
:  decide  \yhere  we  should  pass  the  approaching  winter. 

The  crisis  came  soon  enough.  My  journal  is  prolix 
throughout  this  period ;  but  I  venture  to  give  it  as  it 
stands.     I  begin  with  the  eleventh  of  the  month. 

^^ August  11,  Monday.  The  wind  has  beisn  nearly  all 
day  more  or  less  from  the  northward.  Now,  though 
almost  calm,  it  is  from  the  eastern  or  shore  side,  ac- 
companied by  weather  sunny  and  beautiful. 

"  We  are  still  attached  to  the  oM  land-floe.  This 
so-called  land-ice»  is  rather  a  huge  field,  hemmed  in, 
by  bergs,  so  as  to  be  immovable.  It  is,  however,  young 
and  frail,  not  exceeding  eighteen  inches  in  thickness, 
and  perforated  with  water-pools,  cracks,  and  seal-holes. 
It  is  so  rotten  that  marginal  pieces  are  continually 
breaking  off",  and  carried  into  the  chaos  of  floating 
===^drift  outside.    Were  we  to  share  the  same  chance,  we — 


THF     RERGS     MOVING. 


465 


off  in  the  part  thaSn'.'  1""^'?''^  """"" 
ing  on  without  mtermission  .„'.i  ,  "P'f*^^  '"  8"- 
M.)  we  have  a  huJZZl  ^  ah  /'";  'I'  "',""'"' 
-tern.     We  are  surroj^ly  ZZZ\tj^  """] 

"""AstiTer"  -^-  ''^?2tr:,^thhisr ' 

taring  about  our  anchorage.  SrTrf  uf  5^  T^""' 
to  the  westward,  are  five'  so  n/a  ^  ah^f rto  "' 
.embie  one  ragged  mountain  pZcipL.  The^  ^Z 
one  of  these  smaller  than  our  Washin,rtnn  n  .  ? 
an  one  of  them  would  fill  the  c:;^to,C«a^''''' D^ 
rectly  ahead  only  a  hundred  and  fifteen  Tjsofl-^t 

:X"^ehr;.irstrs:l^^^^^^^^ 

Cgttr:r'^^r"^-'''™Xiiirv^ 

t^ll  !  r^        ^  anchoring  ice  ;  but  every  now  and 
hen  ,t  breaks  offin  g,eat  masses  with  a  reZn  Uke 
art  lery.    Between  it  and  the  nearest  astern  ^us  *e 
distance  is  about  three  hundred  var,l,     n„  •  ■ 

we  have  the  equivalent  of  a  roSound  moZS 

ing  for  if  ■  ^^'  "'"  '"  ■""""»  »«''''••  "d  bear. 

'Ui,^«  12,  Tuesday.  The  berg  ahead  st.lP  l,„ij 
Its  anchorage.     It  is  an  amorphous'masrl  w    n  tha 

K^x^rrjtmrtatz:^^^^^^ 


ti 


\ 


4G6 


A    DRIFTING     ICE-BEACH. 


/"' 


''  About  one^  o'clock  to-day,  a  fragment  about  ao 
large  as  Independence  Hall  fell  from  it  inta  the  ice- 
sea  below.  The  noise  had  not  the  usual  sharp,  reverb- 
erating  character  of  these  disruptions ;  but  the  effects 
of  th^  avalanche  upon  the  field  into  which  it  fell  were 
very  striking.  At  first,  from  the  centre  of  turmoil 
came  a  circling  series  of  large  undulations  clothed  in 
foam.  Next  the  floating  rubbish  began  to  roll  in  prop- 
agated waves  ;  and  these,  passing  our  brig,  extended 
tlremselves  under  the  margin  of  the  fast  floe,  breaking 
it  up,  dnd  still  expanding  in  one  ridge  beyond  another 
till  th6y  disappeared  in  the  distance.  We  coi^nted  at 
least  five  wave  circles  in  the  ice-field  at  one  time.  It 
reminded  me  of  our  scene  in  the  pack  on  the  fifth  of 
June. 

"August  15,  Friday.  The  floe  we  have  been  fasten- 
ed to  so  long  still  holds  together,  though  traversed  by 
innumerable  cracks.  The  margin  is  constantly  break- 
ing away ;  but  our  whale  lines  are  laid  far  out,  and  as 
one  comes  away  we  warp  closer  in  by  the  others. 

"  This  has  kept  us  from  drifting,  but  it  has  sur- 
rounded us  with  the  off"-shed  fragments  of  the  floes. 
These  are  already  recemented  about  us,  thougTi^^  coifi- 
stantly  cracking  and  breaking  away  by  the  varying 
pressures;  and  outside  of  them  the  loose  floes  are  drift- 
ing by,  morning  noon,  and  night,  like  the  foam-cov- 
ered surface  oV&  millrace  when  the  ice  gives  way  in 
a  spring  freshet.  We  may  be  said  to  be  moored  to 
an  uncertain  shore,  a  drifting  beach  of  ice ;  while  qii  ^ 
every  side,  striving  to  tear  us  from  tHis  ■faithless  anch- 
orage, are  the  unquiet,  grinding  floes.  But  the  bergs ! 
it  seems  almost  profanity  to  speak  of  them:  where  are 
they?  '  ,  ^. 
^I  have  compared  the  outside  drift  to  the  foam  o£= 


PROCESSION    OF     THE     BERGS.  467 

'  V^  ■    )  '     ■ 

a  millrace  The^mparisoa,  was  a  wretched  one 
Imagine  the  horizon  a  great  sea,  visible  here  and  there 
at  the  end  of  long  marble  vistas,  one  unbroken  but 
moving  whiteness.  Let  that  sea  be  choked  with  jag- 
ged mountains,  pale  and  chalky,  but  moving  too.  It 
is^the  panorama  that  surrounds  us;  They  are  not  the 
same  bergs  that  girded  us  a  week  ago.  It  is  a  con- 
^tant  series :  as  fast  as  one  column  passes  another  takes 
its^pW     At  this  moment,  looking  to  the  nort^rec- 

TlfVt^  ^T"'  ""^l  Babylonic  «»wer,  just  losing 
itee  f  behind  the  fast1>ergs  to  seaward.  Yesterday 
that  same  berg  emerged  from  the  solid  ice-mountain 
tp  the  southward.  Then  it  was  the  last  of  a  long  cav- 
alcade;  but  they  have  all  gone,  and  another  train  is 
now  following  it,  so  continuous  and  compa<;t  that  I 
sometimes  can  not  see  the  horizon.  The  procession 
like  a  phantasmagorial  dream  of  some  giant  theatre! 
glides  slowly  in  from  the  left,  passes  across  the  front 
and  IS  lost  far  back  to  the  right. 

"  Night  before  last,  standing  on  the  fast  floe   I 
counted,  between  the  two  anchored  bergs  that  sei^e 
as  framinp  of  ^he  picture,  thirty-two  icebergs  in  a 
>«ll™shaled  group.      Standing  afterward  on  the 
summit  of  our  northern  buttress,  I  counted  two  hund- 
red and  eighty,  the  glacier  terminating  t^e  eastern 
view     Most  or  these  ber^s  w^re  above  the  standard 
height  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet;  some  exceeded 
three  hundred;  few  were  less  than  one  hundred. 
^     We  see  no  open  water;  but  it  is  designated  dearly 
by  a  dark  sky,  something  between  the  bistre  of  the 
trost  smoke  and  the  indigo  of  our  thunder  clouds  at 
home.     The  tint  is  deepest  at  the  horizon,  and  fading 
as  It  ascends.     We  have  seen  these  signs  of  water  %„ 
the  last  lour  days.     We  confidently  hope  the^  southT^ 


O 


X 


468 


BERO     FRACTURE.  -' % 


eaaterly  wi^fis  are  driving  the  pack  to  the  northward, 
for  both  the  skreed  drift  and  the  bergs  seem  to  have 
a  northwesterly  trend.  It  is  probable  that  the  leads 
may  not  be  more  than  the  third  of  a  mile  from  us. 
We  have  been  trying  to  warp  toward  them;  but,  after 
much  hard  labor,  have  moved  not  quite  a  hundre^ 

yards.  -  .^*ii  ' 

''■August  16,  Saturday.  Ou  repositions  is  th#s£ 

-  yesterday,  except  that  we  are  l^^day  Wder  \n  it. 
bergs  keep  the  same  curved '8creen(pf  bristling  wall 
to  seaward ;  and  to  the  east,  the  glaci0r;>ith-its  black 
knobs  oT  protruding  mountain,  shows  dimly  through 
the  mist.  The  wind  is  from  the  northward  and  east- 
ward; but  we  are  so  girded  in  that  our  floes  can  not 

'  relax;  Outside,  to  the  south,  whenever  a  momentary 
opening  permits  a  glimpse  beyond,  we  haye  leads  and 
a  water-skgff 

"It  ia  evident  now  that  our  berth  here  is  a  horse- 
shoe  indentation,  the  loose  ice  of  which  is  hemmed  in 
by  a  rapidly  changing  army  of  bergs.  Lagt  night,  or, 
to  speak  more  accurately,  this  morning,  though  the 
wind  was  off-shpre  from  the  east,  we  experienced  some 
tolerable  nipping:  the  'young  puppies'  were  whining 
half  the  night.  Under  the  circumstances,  especially 
as  the  fast  floe  seems  to  yield  very  little,  our  captain 
lias  determined  to  try  the  >4kij^^-  ^^^  ^"8^'^ 
head  is  pdfted  into  the  <^''|^^ft^^^  ^^W^^^ 
spring  her  past  the  loose  ipemSmW^^'- 

"  9  P.M.  While  three  men  were  out  on  a  low  berg 
this  morning  warping,  one  of  them,  Dunning,  struck 
his  ice-chisel  against  the  mass.  It  parted  instantly; 
with  a  short,  sharp  cra«k;  one  fragment  sinking  for  a 
time  nearly  below  the  skreed,  with  two  of  the  men 
^^j^^Xh'ey  had  some  difficulty  in  keeping  theiilooi- 


BfiRO     Fr/ctURE.  ^   469 

hold  as  it  rose,  and  fell,  and  rocked  al^ut  with  the.n; 

but  they  managed  to  do  it.  Dunning  was  left  on  the 
,^  other  Side :  it  see-sawed  with  him  a  good  deaJ  but  he 
slumped  for  it  safely.  s      ^  '  ^"^  "** 

^fli'  ^^'^  T  '^^'"'  ^"^  '■^'*^^  "^^••"J"?  ^^nd  evening,  nrob- 

•ng  up  their  interminable  procession,  some  of.theL 
inaking  subhine  evolutjions-  as  they  puss.     O.ie  to^v 
broke  nght  beforeus  in  a  vertical  disruption,  and;cld 
away,  in  two  i^early  equal  inasses.    Lbther  seem^^ 
to  stop  to  show  us  how  he  could  oscillate,  and  then 
gracefully  turned  himself  upside   down  and  floated  • 

•"  10  P.M.  The  thermometer  ha«  got  up  to  36°,  and 
tire  air  is  transparent  again.  The  sun  is  shining  out 
and  the  glacier  glitters  at  its  fractured  face  like  satin 
spar  and  diamonds.  , 

"August  17,  Sunday.  The  same  revolving  wall  of 
bergs  meets  us!5HheM^est.  hut  the  glacier  on  the  other 
side  IS  partniJly  hidden  by  a  new  procession  inshore. 
While  profaning  the  day  by  an  attempt  to  sketcih  these 
sublime  monuments  of  creative  power  in  my  drawing- 
book,  I  was  mterrupted  by  a  heavy  undulation,  roll- 
ing under  the  brig,  and  passing  on  to  the  solid  inshore 
Hoe.     It  was  followed  by  a  number  of  others,  coming 
m  quick  succession,  and  breaking  up  the  floe  drift  in 
every  direction.     The  action  conti.iued  for  some  min- 
utes.    It  must  have  been  caused  by  some  veiy  large 
and  probably  irregular  berg  overturning  at  a  distance; 
but  It  was  without  noise,  and  indeed  without  premo- 
nition 01  any  sort.     The  direction  of  the  wave  where 
JlgtjrMkjiawaafcomiheHoithwest.?lT^^      this  mo^^ 


r'' 


.>     .,. 


470 


THE     OPENING. 


r 


r* 


ment,  all  the  heavy  heaving  and  warping  of  to-day 

had  been  without  any  eflfect.     Now  the  floes  separated 

'  as  if  by  magic:  there  was  relaxation  every  where;  and 

we  made  at  least  two  hundred  yards  before  the  ice 

closed  again, 

"  This  afternoon,  the  captain,  with  Murdaugh  and 
myself,  walked  and  climbed  over  this  same  ice,  to 
make  a  reconnoissance  of  the  region  beyond  the  bergs. 
By  the  aid  of  boat-hooks  and  some  slippery  jumping 
we  achieved  it,  and  were  at"  last  able  -to  climb  one  of 
the  imprisoning  bergs,  and  look  froiii  its  crest  to  the 

other  side. 

"  It  was  a  sermon  such  as  uninspired  man  has  never 
preached.  .  There;  there,  far  down  below  us,  there  was 
the  open  water,  stretching  wide  away  to  the  south ; 
placid  and  bright,  bearing  on  its  glazed  surface  fleets 
*^of  bergs  and  rkfts  of  floes,  but  open  water  still;  and 
yet  further  on,  the  unbroken  water-sky.  Our  little 
brig  was  under  us,  the  tiny  fretwork  of  her  spars  traced 
clean  and  sharp  against  the  arena  of  ice ;  but,  thank 
God !  she  is  nearing  the  gates  of  her  prison-house.  De 
llaven  was  right.  One  quarter  of  a  mile !  Now,  lads, 
for  the  warps  again ! 

"  Midnight.  We  are  out  ^  at  ten  minutes  past  eleven 
we  shipped  our  rudder,  the  first  time  in  three  weeks; 
and  made  sail,  the  fitst  time  since  the  26th  of  July. 

"We  owe  it  all  to  a  relaxation  of  the  floes.  The 
wind  was  from  the  northward :  the  bergs  that  hemmed 
in  the  loose  drift  around  us  yielded  a  little  toward  the 
west,  and  the  skreed  began  to  separate.  The  main- 
brace  was  spliced;  springs  took  the  place  of  warps; 
and  the  men  went  gallantly  to  their  work.  They 
were  as  anxious  to  get  out  as  any  of  us. 
M  At  last  we  reached  aa^opening ;.  two  iipmense 


THE     ESCAPE 


471 


bergs,  overfianging  and  ragged ;  and  down  toward  the 
water-line,  an  opening  between  them  like  a  gateway. 
Shall  we  pa^s  ?  We  have  seen  so  many  disruptions, 
and  capsizings,  and  accidents  of  all  sorts  in  this  work 
ot  anchor.planting:  sometimes  a  mere  breath  brings 
down  masses  that  would  bury  half  a  dozen  such  ves- 
sels as  ours ;  and  these  bergs  are  so  water- washed  and 
pendulous.  Murdaugh  waited  for  the  order.  De  Ha- 
ven  gave  it;  and,  in  deep  silence,  we  passed  the  Gades 
of  the  Devil's  Trap. 

'^August  19,  Tuesday.  The  Rescue  is  close  astern 
ot  us:  she  got  through  about  noon  yesterday.  Our 
commodore  has  resolved  on  an  immediate  return  to 
the  United  States." 

The  game  had  been  played  out  fairly.  Lancaster 
Sound  was  out  of  the  question;  and  for  our  scurvy- 
riddled  crew,  a  nine  months'  winter  in  the  ice  of 
North  Baffin  would  have  been  disastrous. 


■"*% 


±1t' 


,.,.^.. 


''y_-.  ■.  .-hf:." 


fm^,^ 


»^     v.. .  . 


-  '^m'^<^ 


':i;4 


CHAPTER  L. 

After  our  escape  from  the  congregated  bergs,  we 
sailed  to  one  at  a  little  distance,  and  filled  our  water- 
casks.  The  berg  crumbled  and  fell  while  we  were  do- 
ing so,  but  nobody  was  hurt ;  and  in  two  days  more, , 
after  a  closing  skirmish  with  the  ice-pack,  we  headed 
homeward.  On  the  twentieth  we  made  our  last  sal- 
utation to  the  Devil's  Thumb;  and  on  the  twenty- 
third,,  in  the  evening,  we  were  near  enough  to  Upper- 
ilavik  for  a  little  boating  party  of  us  to  make  it  a  visit. 

With  the  exception  of  Kangiartsoak,  this  is  the 
most  northern  of  the  Danish  settlements.  Its  latitude 
is  72°  47',  three  hundred  and  seventy  miles  within  the 
Arctic  circle.  But  reaching  it,  we  felt  as  if  we  had 
renewed  our  communication  with  the  world ;  for  here, 
once  in  every  year,  comes  the  solitary  trader  from  Co- 
penhagen. We  had  become  so  familiar  with  the  drear- 
iness of  Greenland,  that  the  gliaring  red  gables  of  the 


...,.j«;i«-.^..,i. 


THE    governor's     MANSION.  473 

three  houses,  and  the  white  curiosity,  which  stood  for 
a  steeple  above  the  church,  were  absolutely  cheering  • 
and  we  landed,  poor  souls !  after  our  twelve  miles' 
row,  with  hearts  as  elate  as  ever  frolicked  amonff  the 
orange-groves  of  Brazil  or  the  cocoa-pain*  t)f  the  East- 
ern  Jracific.  * 

Disappointment  once  more!  The  governor  had  gone 
to  Proven;  the  Danish  ship  hml  gone  to  Proven;  the 
priest  had  gone  to  Proven.  But  the  gentler  sex  re- 
mained. The  governor's  lady  gave  us  a  kindly  wel- 
come,  and  extended  to  us  all  the  hospitalities  of  his 
mansion. 

The  mansion  wa^  far 
from  picturesque.  It  was 
a  square  block  of  heavy 
g"^  timber,  running  into  a 
high-peak  gable.     The 
roof  was  of  tarred  can- 
vas, laid   over   boards; 
thp  wooden  walls  coated 
with  tar,  and  painted  a  glowing  red.    A  little  paling 
white  and  garden-like,  inclosed  about  ten  feet  of  pre-' 
pared  soil,  covered  with  heavy  glass  frames;  under 
which,  in  spite  of  the  hoar-frost  that  gathered  on  them 
we  could  detect  a  few  bunches  of  crucifers,  green  rad-' 
ishes,  and  turnip-tops.     It  was  the  garden,  the  dis- 
tinctive  appendage  of  the  governor's  residence. 

Inside  the  house— it  is  the  type  of  those  at  Disco 
and  Proven— you  pass  by  a  narrow-boarded  vestibule 
to  a  parlor.  This  parlor,  a  rbom  of  dignified  consider- 
ation, IS  twelve  feet  long  by  eleven :  beyond  it,  a  door 
opens  to  display  the  suite,  a  second  room,  the  state 
chamber,  of  the  same  size.  v 


tie  most  striking  article  of  furniture  is  the  stove,  a 

81 


fl  \ 


474 


THE     FEAST. 


tall,  black  pylinder,  such  as  I  have  seen  in  the  Baltic 
cities,  standing  like  a  column  in  the  corner :  the  next, 
a  platoon  of  tobacco-pipes  paraded  against  the  wall  : 
the  next — let  me  be  honest,  it  was  the  first — a  table, 
with  a  clean  white  cloth,  and  plates,  knives,  and  forks, 
all  equally  clean.  Overhead  hang  beams  as  heavy 
as  the  carlines  of  a  ship's  cabin :  below /is  an  uncov- 
ered  floor  of  scrupulous  polish :  the  windows  are  re- 
cessed,  glazed  in  small  squares,  and  opeiiing,  door-like, 
behind  muslin  curtains :  the  walls  canvas,  painted, 
and  decdrated  with  a  few  prints  altogether  remarkable 
for  intensity  of  color.  The  looking-glass ;  I  reserve  it 
for  more  special  mention. '  It  was  not  very  large,  but 
it  was  the  first  we  had  encountered  since  we  came 
into  the  regions  of  ice.  "  To  see  ourselves  as  others 
see  us"  is  not  always  the  prayer  of  an  intelligent  self- 
love.  '  Sharp- visaged,  staring,  weather-beaten  old  men, 
wrinkle-marked,  tawny-bearded,  haggard-looking:  the 
boys  of  Uppernavik  are  better  bred  than  the  New  York- 
ers, or  they  would  have  mobbed  us. 

The  ladies — they  were  ladies,  they  knew  no  superi- 
ors; they  were  self-possessed,  hospitable ;  they  wore 
frocks,  and  they  did  not  laugh  at  us — the  ladies  spread 
the  meal,  coffee,  loons'  eggs,  brown  bread,  and  a  wel- 
come. We  ate  like  j ail-birds.  At  last  came  the  crown- 
ing act  of  hospitality ;  on  the  bottom  of  a  blue  saucer, 
radiating  like  the  spokes  of  a  wheel  or  the  sticks  of  a 
Delaware's  camp-fire,  crisp,  pale,  yet  blushing  at  their 
tips,  and  crowned  each  with  its  little  verdant  tuft— 
ten  radishes  !  Talk  of  the  mango  of  Luzon  and  the 
mangostine  of  Borneo,  the  oherimoya  of  Peru,  the  pine 
of  Sumatra,  the  seckel-pear  of  Schuylkill  meadows; 
but  the  palate  must  cease  to  have  a  memory  before  I 
"yield  a  place  to  any  of  them  alongside  the  ten  radishes 
of  Uppernavik. 


1.. 


.       .,  ,ivA, 


THE     KAYACK. 


475 


On  the  twenty-fifth  we  reached  tfi^  Whale- fi«h 
Islands,  and  at  six  in  the  evening  were  near  enough 
to  be  towed  in  by  our  boats  and  anchor  off  Kronprin- 
sen  Flocks  of  kayacks  hung  about  our  vessel,  like 
birds  ^bout  a  floating  spar.     We  thought  them  more 


sprightly  and  active  than  the  Esquimaux  we  had  been 
among ;  but  perhaps  it  is  as  unfair  to  judge  of  the  Es- 
quimaux without  his  kayack  as  of  a  sloth  off  his  tree 
There  was  a  bright  boy  among  them,  under  ten  years 
ol  age,  who  could  manage  a  little  craft  they  had  built 
*for  him  admirably.  He  calfed  to  us  that  his  name 
was  Paul.  Next  him  was  our  »ld  friend,  Jans,  of  the 
overturners— whose  portrait  I  have  given  in  the  mar- 
gin of  the  following  page— and  under  our^ow,  Zach- 
anas,  the  quarter-breed  ;  and  Paul,  senior,  the  pilot  of 
my  fur  expedition  to  Lievely, 

I  promised,  inan  early  part  of  my  book,  to  say  some- 
thing  more  about  the  kayack  and  its  occupant.     I  re- 
turn for  a  few  minutes  to  the  subject  now. 
.J^e  common  length  of  the  kayack  is.  about  eight-- 
een  feet,  its  breadth  on  deck  some  twenty-one  inches, 


■It 


i 


/ 


476 


THE   kayack: 


and  its  depth  ten 
inches  in  the  middle, 
just  such  as  to  al- 
low its  occupant  to 
sit  with  his  feet  ex- 
tended  on  the  h^ot- 
torn  and  his  hips  be- 
low the  deck.  It  is 
always  built  with  a 
nice  adaptation  to  his 
weight. 

Its  frame  is  light 
enough  to  startle  all 
our  notions  of  naVal 
construction,  and  it 
is  covered  with  noth- 
ing but  tanned  seal- 
hide.  Yet  in  this 
egg-shell  fabric  the 
Esquimaux  navigator  habitually,  and  fearlessly,  and 
successfully  tpo,  encounters  risks  which  his  more  civ- 
ilized rivali^  in  the  seal-hunt,  the  men  of  New  Bedford 


-vSs: 


an^  Stonington,  would  rightfully  shrink  from:  I  am 
not  sure  that  I  carPihake  such  a  description  of  its  pro- 
portions and  structure  as  a  ship-builder  would  under- 
stand ;  but  the  drawings  I  annex  have  been  made 
carefully  ftom  one  of  the  best  models,  and  maybe  re- 
lied on  for  all  the  information  that  can  be  gathered 
from  them. 


ITS    CONSTRUCTION. 


477 


T     >»  . 


The  skeleton  consists  of  three  longitudinal  strips  of 

^Tst ;  1  ^r^  ^''  "^^"^^^y  '^^^''  *han  a  common 
plasenng  lath  -  stretching  from  end  to  end,  and 
shielded  at  the  stem  and  stern  by  cutwaters  of  bone 
The  upper  of  these,  the  gunwale,  if  I  may  call  it  so,  is 
^g  somewhat  stouter  than  the  others. 
="  ^  The  bottom  is  framed  by  three  sim- 
=^  il{ir  longitudinal  strips.     These  are 

1,-  I,  P  ^  ,  °^^®'^®^  ^y  ***^®'"  st"PS  or  hoops, 
which  perform  the  office  of  knees  and  ribs  :  they  are 
placed  at  a.  distance  of  not  more  than  eight  to  ten 
inches  from  one  another.  Wherever  the  parts  of  this 
frame-work  meet  or  cross,  they  are  bound  together 
with  reindeer  tendon  very  artistically.  The  general 
outline  IS,  I  think,  given  accurately  in  the  sketch  on 
the  opposite  page. 

Over  this  little  basket-work  of  wood  is  stretched  the 
coating  of  seal  hides,  which  also  covers  the  deck,  very 
neatly  sewed  with  tendon,  and  firmly  glued  at  the 
edges  by  a  composition  of  reindeer  horn  scraped  and 
hquefied  in  oil.  A  varnish  made  of  the  same  mate, 
rials  IS  used  to  protect  the  whole  exterior. 

The  pah,  or  man-hole,  as  we  would  term  it,  is  very 


478 


THE     IMPLEMENTS 


nearly  in  the  centre  of  the  little  vessel,  sometimes  a 
few  inches  toward  the  stern.  It  is  circular  or  nearly 
so,  wide  enough  to  let  the  kayacker  squeeze  his  hips 
through  it,  and  no  more.  It  has  a  rim  or  lip,  secured 
upon  the  gunwa,le,  and  rising  a  couple  of  inches  above 
the  deck,  so  as  to  permit  the  navigator  to  bind  it  wa- 
ter-tight around  his  person.  Immediately  in  front  of 
him  is  his  assay-lent,  oi  line  stan(f,  surmounted  by  a 
reel,  with  the  sealing-ftne  snugly  coiled  about  it,  and 
revolving  on  its  centre  with  the  slightest  touch.  He 
has  his  harpoon  and  his  lances  strapped  at  his  side; 
his  rifle,  if  he  owns*  one,  stowed  away  securely  be- 
tween decks.  * 

Just  behind  the  kayacker  rests  his  bladder-float  or 

air-bag,  an  air-tight  sack  of 
seal-skin,  always  kept  inflat- 
ed, and  fastened  to  the  sealing- 
line.  It  performs  the  double 
office  of  a  buoy,  and  a  break 
or  drag  to  retard  the  motion  of  the  prey  after  it  is 
struck. 

The  harpoon,  or  principal  lance  {unahk),  is  also  at- 


a  b. 


tached  to  the  sealing-line.     It  is  a  most  ingenious  de- 
vice.    The  rod  or  staflf  is  divided  at  right  angles  in 

two  pieces,  which 
are  neatly  jointed 
or  hinged  with  ten- 
don strips,  but  so  braced  by  the  manner  in  which  the 
tendon  is  made  to  cross  and  bind  in  the  lashing,  that, 
except  when  the  two  parts  are  severe^  by  lateral  press-^ 
ure,  they  form  but  a  single  shaft.     The  point,  geneF" 


«"* 


OF     THE     KAYACKER. 


479 


ally  an  arrow-head  of 
bone,  has  a  socket  to 
receive  the  end  of  the 
shaft:  it  disengages  it- 
self  readily  from  its 
place,  but  still  remains  fast  to  the  end  of  the  line 
Ihus,  when  the  kayacker  has  struck  his  prey,  the 
shaft  escapes  the  risk  of  breaking  from  a  pull  against 
the  gram  by  bending  at  the  joint,  and  the  point  is 
carried  free  by  the  animal  as  he  dives. 

At  the  right  centre  of  gravity  of  the  harpoon,  that 
pomt  I  mean,  at  which  a  cudgel-player  would  grasp 
nis  statt,  a  neatly-arranged  cestm  or  holder  {noon-sok) 


00T8IDE    OR    BACK    01'    THE    ^OON-SOK. 


tin. 


msiDB   OB   SECTION    OF   THt   N0ON-8OK. 


fits  Itself  on  the  shaft.  It  serves  to  give  the  kayacker 
a  good  gqp  when  casting  his  fweapon,  but  slides  off 
h-om  It,  and  is  left  in  the  hand,  at  the  moment  of 
dl-awmg  back  his  arm.     The  bird  javelin  {neu-ve-ak), 


■  In. 


the  seal  lance  {ah-gnu-vcto),  ai^d  the  rude  hunting-knife 


{ha.poot),  will  be  easily  understood  from  my  sketches 


Y\ 


I  In 


..^ 


480 


THE   kayackkr: 


The  paddle  {pa-uh-teet),  about  which  a  knowing 
Esquimaux  will  waste  as  many  words  as  a  sporting 
gentleman  upon  a  double-barreled  Mant^n  or  a  bridle- 
bit  of  peculiar  faifcy,  is  in  every  respect  a  beautifully 
considered  instrument.  It  never  exceeds  sevpn  feet 
in  length.  It  is  double-bladed,  and  its  central  por- 
tion,  which  receives  the  hands,  presei;its  *,n  ellipsoid 
face^  yrell  adapted  to  a  secure  grasp.  „  The  blades  are 
four  inches  in  width,  and  some  two  <^et  in  length, 
forming  very  nearly  sections  of  a  cofl^^H  Their  edges 
and  tips  are  carefully  guarded  from  tngJcutting  action 
of  the  ice  by  the  ivory  of  the  walrus  or  narwhal. 

Thus  constructed  and  furnished,  its  seal-skin  cover- 
ing renewed  every  year,  the  kayack  is  the  life,  and 
pastime,  and  pride  of  its  owner.  He  carries  it  on  his 
shoulder  into  the  surf,  cla4^n  his  water-proof  seal-skin 
dress,  belted  close  round  tj^f  neck,  his  hood  firmly  set 
above ;  wedges  himself  into  th^  man-hole,  unites  him- 
self by  a  lashing  to  its  rim,  and  paddles  off  for  a  frolic 
outside  the  breakers,  or  it  may  be  a  s^al-hunt,  or  to 
throw  his  javelin  at  the  eider,  or  perhaps  to  carry  dis- 
patches to  some  distant  settlement,  or  to  take  part  in 
a  crusade  against  the  reindeer. 

In  their  long  excursions  in  search  of  deer,  the  ka- 
yackers  paddle  their  way  to  the  nearest  portage  along 
the  coast,  and  shoulder  their  little  skiff  till  they  reach 
the  interior  lakes.  Their  dexterity  is  admirable  in  the 
use  of  their  weapons.  I  have  seen  them  spear  the  eider 
on  the  wing  and  the  loon  as  he  was  diving.  Scud- 
ding along  at  a  rate  equal  to  that  of  a  five-oared  whale- 
boat,  they  fling  their  tiny  javelin  far  ahead,  and,  with- 
out interrupting  their  progress,  seize  it  as  they  pass. 

The  authorities  of  Greenland  communicate  con- 
stantly with  their  different  posts  by  means  of  the  ka- 


V 


HIS    DEXTERITY. 


481 


)  aofcj ,  On  these  occasions  tjie  express  consists  of  two. 
traveling  together  for  assistance  and  fellowship.  Thev 
are  expeditious,  and  proverbially  reliable.  They  travel 
only  during  the  day.  At  night  they  land  upon  some 
ifrT^Til''^''''^'''  *^"  ^^y^^k  is  carried  up, 

It       .     f '  '^'  ^"'^"''^  ^^««  «f  «^«^«  protecting 
rock,  and,  after  a  scanty  meal,  the  Hosky  seats  him: 

self  once  more  in  its  closely-fitting  hole;  then,  draw- 
mg  over  him  his  water-tight  hood,  he  leans  for  sup. 
port  against  the  naked  stone,  and  sleeps.  One  of  these 
messengers  arrived  at  Holsteinberg  while  we  were 
there  from  Fredericshaab,  three  hundred  and  sixty 
miles  in  ten  days ;  traveling  along  a  tempestuous  coa^t, 
with  varying  winds  and  currents,  at  a  mean  rtfi«  of 
thirty-six  miles  a  day. 

It  is  said  the  eicpertness  of  the  kayacker  increases 
a.  you  proceed  south.  If  the  natives  of  Julianshaab 
and  Licht^nfels  surpass  those  of  Egedesminde  and 
Holsteinberg,  their  feats  are  unnecessarily  wonderful 
Here  are  some  of  them,  not  performed  as  such,  but 
mu^tratmg  the  accomplishments  of  a  welUriied 

thr^nn^vfTw  "JV'T  ^"  °ff««t*ingmountIin.ridge  to 
the  nor^h  of  Holsteinberg,  is  a  rocky  reef  or  ledge,  over 
which  the  sea  breaks  heavily,  and  the  currents  ru^i 
with  perplexing  caprice  and  force.     In  almost  all  sort« 
of  weather,  if  there  be  only  light  enough  to  see,  the 
kayacks  may  be  met  playing  about  these  surf-beaten 
passages,  regardless  of  wind,  swell,  or  tides.     When 
our  vessel  was  entering  port,  we  were  boarded  by  a 
kayack  pilot.     In  spite  of  the  heavy  seaway,  he  L 
proached  fearlessly  to  the  side  of  the  brig,  then,  poil' 
ng  himself  on  the  slope  of  the  waves,  he  avoided  the 
trough,  and,  passing  a  running  bowline  fore  and  aft-^ 


482 


FEAT8     OF    THE     KAYACKER. 


over  his  little  crafl,.  man  and  boat  were  lifted  bodily 
on  board.  " 

Going  Out  to  seaward,  with  a  heavy  inshore  surf 
rollinj^,  is  no  ti^fle,  6ven  to  welhjhanned  whale-boats 
The  kayacker  paddles  quietly  oat  -toward  the  break- 
ers. The  roaring  lip  of  green  water  bends  roof-like 
over  him.  Down  cowers  the  pliant  man,  his  rig^t 
shoulder  buried  in  the  water,  and  his  hooded  head 
bowed  upon  his  breast.  An  instant  and  he  emerges 
on  the  outer  side  with  a  jutting  impulse,  shaking  the 
wq,ter  from  his  mane,  and  preparing  for  a  fresh  en- 
counter. 

The  somerset,  the  "  cai^trum,"  as  the  whalers  tenn 
it,  may  be  seen  any  hour  of  the  day  for  a  plug  of  to- 
bacco  or  a  glass  of  ruin.  I  have  seen  it  with  different 
degrees  oi  address ;  but  one,  that  Mr.  Miiller,  the  gov- 
ernor of  Holsteinberg,  told  me  of,  is  the  perfection  of 
dextrous  overturning.  The  kayacker  takes  a  stone, 
as  large  as  he  can  grasp  in  his  hand,  holding  the  pad- 
dle by  the  imperfect  grip  of  the  thumbs.  He  whirl? 
his  hands  over  his  head,  upsets  his  little  bark,  buries 
•it  bottom  up,  and  rights  himself  on  the  other  side, 
still  holding  the  stone.  . 

But  after  all,  the  crowning  feat  j^  the  every-day 
one  of  catching  the  seal.  For  this  the  kayacle  is  con- 
structed, and  it  is  here  that  its  wonderful  adaptation 
of  purpose  is  best  displayed.  Without  describing  the 
admirable  astuteness  with  which  he  finds  and  ap- 
proaches his  prey,  let  us  suppose  the  kayacker  close 
upon  a  seal.  The  line-stand  is  carefully  examined,  the 
coil  adjusted,  the  attachments  to  the  body  of  the  boat 
so  fixed  that  .the  slightest  strain  will  separate  them. 
The  bladder-float  is  disengaged,  and  the  harpoon  tipped 
r=^wittits  barb,  whiQhibrm&tha  extremity  of  the  coiL^ 


HIS    flEAL     HUNT. 


483 


b<ik  Lwl*'"  '"'^'"'''«'  *""  •"'™>-n  h«  body 

■     li»r         ,         *  *"'  "'""I""  boftie.     Whirr'  feces  tl,« 

l.ttle  oo. ,  and  the  float  is  bobbing  om  t L  wlte^ 

Td  th:'::"™''/"""'  '"''''  h- entered  the  trL 
"pi  «i  r t  "!r  '"  """'"'•    Now  the  harpo™ 

.    M  well  as  address     Th-  i.     !    i      '"""*  ''*«'««on 

uaArt^^i^^^^^^ 

he  contortions  of  a  large  seal  thus  wounded  may 'tea 

ain  hT  "f""  ''"""'■  ■»■•  'he  merest  creviS^s  cer 
torn  destruction     If  he  has  with  him  the  ligrjlveTi^" 

Zi^^otlTZ]^'  ^"»?  --"'  ^-er  litS 
he  mkes  a  hol„  ^  *  """.""^'"K  ^'^^  "^  ^s  knife, 
b^nr.21ti  u'"'  """""J**  of  the  seal:  the 
6one  is  passed  trough ;  and  the  seal,  towed  aloneside 

pendent  of  the  mere  danger  of  the  sea.    What  then 


i*^uT  -T      ""  "*^  ^^^««^i  and  the  ka^ 

itselfis^mere  maphragm  of  skin,  stretched  on  a^ 


\ 


^- 


%- 


484 


HAZARDS    AND    RESCUE. 


wQpden  frame.  Even  by  the  friction  of  use,  it  be- 
comes as  attenuated  as  parchment,  and  sometimes 
parts  by  the  mere  contraction  of  changing  tempera- 
tures. I  have  seen  them  at  the  brig's  quarter  so  trans- 
parent that  the  wash  of  the  waves,  and  even  the  float- 
ing actinia,  were  visible  through  their  sides.  The 
segims,  too,  however  carefully  secured  at  first,  will  nev- 
ertheless warp  in  the  sunshine.  Constant  scrutiny 
and  skill  can  hardly  insure  them  against  hazard. 

This  proves  itself  sadly.  About  three  kayacks  a 
year  are  missing  from  Holsteinberg,  and  the  other  set- 
tlements have  a  nearly  similar  ratio  of  mortality.  The 
kayack  is  sometimes  the  coffin  of  its  owner,  and  the 
two  skeletons  have  more  than  once  been  found  togeth- 
er on  the  lonely  beaches  of  this  bleak  coast. 

In  quiet  weather,  however,  by  much  address,  two 
may  save  one ;  or  by  towing,  if  the  distance  be  not 
great  from  shore,  even  one  may  save  another.  The 
first  of  these  modes  of  rescue  consists  in  lashing  the 
two  kayacks  at  the  sides  of  the  wreck,  or  by  running 
the  paddle  that  belonged  to  it  through  the  strong  cross- 
lines  of  walrus  hide  which  stretch  across  the  tops  of 
the  other  two.  The  unfortunate  man^js  then  extii- 
cated  from  the  pah  or  hole,  and  sits  very  comfortably/ 
behind  witb  a  knee  on  each  boat.  I  have  seen  Esq tii->^ 
maux  carried  ashore  from  our  brig  in  this  manner.  In 
the  other  case,  the  unfortunate,  with  his  inflated  float, 
may  grasp  the  stern  of  his  friendly  helper,  and  be  tow- 
ed to  shore ;  but  in  these  icy  waters  nature  sustains 
herself  with  difficulty  against  the  cold.  /  ' 

It  has  happened  sometimes,  but  so  very  rarely  as  to 
be  chronicled  always  for  a  wonder,  that  a  strong  and 
determined  fellow,  with  the  aid  of  bladder-float,  and 
^superhuman  exertion  besidei^iisr  managed  tor  reaeb^" 


^ 


^•' 


INVOLUNTAKV    EXPATRIATION.  485 

the  transit  of  the  bav  'l  "'';*'"?''''«'■  having  maJe 
I  believe  it  to  te  a  UWa^S  tham"  "'^"V"'''-  ^"^ 
to  »  Greenlander.  T  Ztame,  f^"""'  "  '""™  "™" 
ti.e  a^Egeaes^indt^.Tr  tit:  rCltet 

TeX  irtf^Trso"„rrj:> -^f- ™ 

aero,  the  W.  so  as  to  open  on  the  one  shore  Z  oS 
This  occasional  tendency  of  the  ice  raft  in  fl    . 

the^stones  that  are  weU  authentic»W  of  th^rpo^r 

messages  have  corne  by  the^^lt  ouZrtZt 
the  unknown  regions  of  the  West  «nH  TiU        Y 

ro-.tnr^t;cr„ns^s::Ji;t 

asledgeinquestofsfifll      TKo         ^*"^es.  set  out  on 


1  «tift^  *^1  ^  '"^^P'  ^^""d  that  the  wind 

i  shiiW  to  th^  eastwara.    It  was  blowlnggent^ 


486 


CONCLUSION. 


and  could  hardly  have  been  blowing  long.  They  har- 
nessed  in  their  dogs,  urged  them  to  their  utmost  speed, 
and  made  for  the  land  they  had  left.  Too  late!  a 
yawning  chasm  of  open  water  lay  already  between. 
A  day  was  lost  in  frantic  despair.  It  blew  a  gale,  ai4 
offshore  southeaster.  The  fog  rose,  the  wind  still  from 
the  east:  the  shore  was  gone. 

The  story  is  a  wild  one.  They  reharnessed  the  dogs, 
and  turned  to  the  west,  one  hundred  and  thirty  track- 
less miles  of  ice  before  them.  On  the  third  day  the 
dogs  gave  out :  one  of  the  lost  men  killed  his  fellow, 
and  revived  the  animals  with  his  flesh.  The  wretch- 
ed survivor  at  last  reached  the  North  American  shore 
about  Merchant's  Bay.  Years  afterward,  this  account 
came  over  by  a  circuitous  channel  to  the  Greenland 
settlement.  He  had  married  a  new  wife,  had  a  new 
family,  a  new  home,  a  new  country,  from  which,  had 
he  desired  it  never  so  much,  there  could  be,  for  him 
no  return.  ^ 

The  traditions  of  all  the  settlements  have  tales  of 
similar  disaster.  Yet  the  Esquimaux  are  a  happy  race 
of  people,  hapjpy  so  far  as  content  and  an  elastic  tem- 
perament go  to  make  up  happiness. 


I  shouN  like  to  dilate  for  a  while  on  some  of  their 
superstitions,  which  crop  out  now  and  then  through 
their  adopted  faith,  as  if  to  show  the  Scandinavian 
mytliology  it  overlays.  I  have  the  materials  by  me, 
too,  for  sotne  passages  about  their  seemingly  innate 
fondness  for  music,  their  roundelays  and  hymns,  the 
little  organ  at  Holsteinberg,  which  has  come  back  from 
Denmark  repaired  since  Sir  John  Ross's  visit,  the  vio- 
lins of  the  church  orchestra,  and  the  abominably  it- 
-crated  accQrdioiiS4_with.  their  kindred  Jewji-harps.    I 


CONCLUSION. 


48: 


should  have  been  excused,  perhaps,  for  adding  a  chap- 
ter  also  on  the  probabilities  of  Sir  John  Franklin's 
company  being  yet  alive,  and  the  duty  of  adventurous 
Christendom  to  persist  in  the  effort  for  their  rescue 

But  the  story  of  our  cruise  is  told ;  and  my  readers 
will  be  almost  as  willing  as  I  was  to  hurry  onwards 
to  our  own  shores.  Be§bre  these  pages  can  pass  through 
the  press,  I  shall  have  given  such  assurance  as  it  is  in 
my  power  to  give  of  my  convictions  that  th*»missinff 
party  may  be  found,  and  should  be  sought  for  If 
God  shall  favor  me,  I  may  be  able  to  speak  hereafter 
Irom  a  renewed  and  more  intimate  personal  knowledge 
of  the  habits  and  feelings  of  the  Greenland  people. 

We  left  the  settlements  of  Baffin's  Bay  on  the  6th 
of  September,  1851,  grateful  exceedingly  to  the  kind 
hearted  officers  of  the  Danish  posts;  ahd  after  a  run  of 
some  twenty-fbur  days,  unmarked  by  incident,  touch- 
ed our  native,  soil  again  at  New  Y<^rk.     Our  noble 

^fnend,  Henry  Grinnell,  was  the  first  t0  welcome  us  on 

the  pier-head. 


v 


A.  Instructioi 

the  U.  S. 

B.  Lieut.  Be  J 

C.  Current.CI 

of the  U.  J 
E8q.,«ftl 

D.  Half-month 

ture  of  th( 
Level  oft 
U.  S.  Coaj 

E  Table  o/th( 
to  August, 
the  meridi 
(both  inclu 
Esq.,  U.  S. 

F.  liCcture  on 
after  Sir  J 
Geographic 
Kane,  Deci 


>.      lUjss.*  • 


* 

/ 

*' 

§ 

.  ■'^'-  ■ 

■.  >  >■  ..',J 

APPENDIX. 


B.  Lieut.  De  Haven's  Report  on  th6  Return  of  the  Expedition 

""■  ';nru''s"S;rAH"''''T'"^  Meteorological  Abstracts  of  the  Log-book 

D.  Half-monthly  Abstract  of  the  mean  Force  of  the  Wind,  the  mean  Temoera 
tur«  of  the  A.r  and  Water,  and  the  mean  Height  of  U,e  Brr^meS  aUh; 

F.  lecture  on  the  Access  to  an  Open  Polar  Sea  in  connection  with  the  Sean-h 
.      after  S.r  John  Franklin  and  his  Companions,  «ad  biZi  AmerS 


82 


' 

\ 

t 

1 

' 

^ 

. 

•  / 

4» 

N 

'\ 

* 

fl 

iHfe:''-'"-i\^V  - 

*                          •     ■ 

rf 

*                            .     - 

■: :     ' 

'V      .  :  ..;yM;- J 

% 


\' 


<i 


«# 


Sir,— Hb 

Franklin  ai 

Tance  and 

^you  are  rei 

^Lancaster  ! 

Thfese  ve 

munificence 

therefore,  (x 

condition. 

Passed  W 

■yessels.    Y 

fer  with  hin 

The  chiej 

to  Sir  John 

You  will, 

paying  atten 

may  not  inte 

Having  p| 

Wellington  i 

cumstances 

According 

of  the  ice,  se 

for  Cape  Wa 

bQth  proceed 

Slould  yoi 

Straits,  you  > 

Finding  the» 

expedition,  tt 

tempts.    If  8 

Acquaint  I 

during  the  tc 

appoint  a  plB( 

a  change  desi 

==1«rcgMiBrn 

each  may  knc 


1  ^<.Va  <*uij44 


APPENDIX. 


A.    ' 

'^Ste?*^  °^  ^"^  SECRETARY  OF  THE  NAVY  TO  LIEUT 
DE  HA^r^.  COMMANDING  THE  U.  S.  GRINNELL  EfpEDmolT 

United  Slates  Navy  Department,        ) 

fer  wth  hilJn  •  !  m"'"'  '"'"'''''"  »»^  '"•y""'  second  in  command.  Con- 
ler  with  him,  and  treat  him  accordingly. 

tn'^rilU'^^^'t  "'■'1?"  "P**""""  «  »"  sean'h  for.  and.  if  found,  afford  relief 
to  Sir  John  FranWin,  of  the  Royal  Navy,  and  his  companions. 

You  wai.  therefore,  use  all  diligence  and  make  every  exertion  to  this  end 
paying  attention  a.  you  go  to  BUl.jects  of  scientific  inquir,  only  so  ?aj^  they 
may  not  interfere  with  the  main  object  of  the  expedition  ^ 

WeUington  Channel,  and  we»tward\o  Cape  Walker,  and  be  governed  by  cir- 
cumstances as  to  the  courw  you  will  then  take  erneaoycir- 

of thT  ioJ'"*^'^'  ^°!?  ""*"  l""""  y°"'  °*"  '''''"««'^"' «««'  ««ei"g  the  condition 
for  SrwT,; ""''  7''i^'""''  ''^''^''  *''«  '*»  ^"^^^'^  ^hall  here  separatHnS 
for  Cape  Walker,  and  the  other  for  Wellington  Straits ;  or  whether  they^^ 
both  proceed  together  for  the  one  place  or  the  other  <, 

St^L" 'ir"  "n  1"  'T'"""'  °"  '"""""'*  °^'^^  '«=«>  *°  K«»  through  to  Barrow's 
?  „T;r  ""  ,  ^l"  '  "?  ^"^  "**""'°"  *°  •'°"«»'''  Sound  and  Smith's  Sound 
Finding  these  closed  or  impracticable,  and  failing  of  all  traces  of  the  misS 
expedition  the  season  will  probably  then  be  too  L  advanced  for  any  0^  a' 
tempts.    If  80,  you  will  return  to  New  York.     ^ 

Acquaint  Passed  Midshipman  Griffin  before  sailing,  and  from  time  to  time 

during  tbe  voyage,  flUly  with,^l  your  plan,  and  ii^entions,  an?S™  saSg 

;'cZl«  H        °  "ST'-i  "•"'"«'  "  "i^^  "«  ^"'•"nstances  may  renS 

4rS^   ''  ^",'  "T/?  ""'"  ■  P'"*^  of  ^ndezvous  fixed  uponfso  thaL 

=ft««»thetwo  YeueU  of  the  expedition  may  at  any  time  become  separatS^ 

each  may  know  where  to  look  for  the  other.  i«'aiea, 


/ 


-*      ( 


492 


INSTRUCTIONS    TO 


Nearly  the  entire  Arctic  front  of  the  continent  has  been  scoured  without  find- 
ing any  traces  of.the  missing  ships.  It  is  useless  for  you  to  go  there,  or  to  re- 
examine any  other  place  where  search  has  already  been  made.  You  will,  there- 
fore, confine  your  attention  to  the  routes  already  indicated. 

The  point  of  maximum  cold  is  said  to  be  in  the  vicinity  of  Parry  Islands. 
To  the  north  and  west  of  these  there  is  probably  a  comparative  open  sea  in 
summer,  and  therefore  a  milder  climate.  > 

This  opinion  seems  to  be  sustained  by  the  fact  that  beasts  and  fowls  are  seen 
migrating  over  the  ice  from  the  mouth  of  Mackenzie  River  and  its  neighboring 
shores  to  the  north.  ,  These  dumb  creatures  are. probably  led  by  their  wise  in- 
stincts to  seek  a  more  genial  climate  in  that  direction,  and  upon  the  borders  of 
the  supposed  more  open  sea. 

There  are  other  facts  elicited  by  Lieutenant  Maury,  in  the  course  of  his  in- 
vestigations touching  the  winds  and  currents  of  the  ocean,  which  go  also  to 
confirm  the  opinion,  that  beyond  the  icy1)arrier  that  is  generally  met  with  in  the 
Arctic  Ocean,  there  is  a  Polina,  or  sea  free  from  ice.  /  . 

You  have  assisted  in  these  investigations  at  the  National  Observatory,  and 
are  doubtless  aware  of  the  circumstaniceB  which  authorize  this  conclusion ;  it 
is  therefore  needless  to  repeat  them. 

This  supposed  open  sea  and  warmer  region  to  the  north  and, west  of  Parry 
Islands  are  unexplored.  Should  you  succeed  m  finding  any  opening  there, 
either  after  having  cleared  Wellington  Straits,  or  after  having  cleared  Parry  Isl- 
ands by  a  northwardly  course  from  Cape  Walker,  enter  as  far  a,s  in  your  judg- 
ment it  may  be  prudent  to  enter,  and  search  every  headland,  promontory,  and 
conspicuous  point  for  signs  and  records  of  the  nyssing  party.  Take  particular 
care  to  avail  yourself  of  every  opportunity  for  leaving  as  you  go  records  and 
signs  to  tell  of  your  welfare,  progress,  and  intentions. 

For  this  purpose  you  will  erect  flag-staffs,  make  piles  of  stone,  or  other  marks 
in  conspicuous  places,  with  a  bottle  or  barrica  buried  at  the  base  containing 
your  letters. 

Should  the  two  vessels  be  separated,  you  will  direct  Passed  Midshipman  Grii- 
fin  to  do  likewise. 

Avail  yourself  of  every  opportunity,  either  by  the  Esquimaux  or  otherwise, 
to  let  the  Department  hear  from  you ;  and  in  every  communication  be  full  and 
particular  as  to  your  future  plans  and  intended  route. 

If  by  any  chance  you  should  penetrate  so  far  beyond  the  icy  barrier  as  to 
make  it,,  in  your  judgment,  more  prudent  to  push  on  than  to  turn  back,  you  will 
do  80,  and  put  yourself  in  communication  with  any  of  the  United  States  naval 
forceo  or  officers  of  the  government  serving  in  the  waters  of  the  Pacific  or  in 
China,  according  to  your  necessities  and  opportunities.  Those  officers  will  be 
instructed  to  afford  you  every  facility  possible  to  enable  you  to  reach  the  west- 
em  coast  of  the  United  States  in  safety. 

In  the  event  of  your  falling  in  with  any  of  thti  British  searching  parties,  you 
will..ofier  them  any  assistance  of  which  they  may  stand  in  need,  and  which  it 
may  be  in  your  power  to  give.  GfiTer,  also,  to  make  them  acquainted  with  your 
intended  route  and  plans,  and  be  ready  to  afTord  them  every  information  of 
which  you  may  have  become  possessed  concerning  the  object  of  your  search. 

JB^case  your  country  should  be  involved  injcar  during  your  absence  on  this 


service,  you  will  on  no  account  commit,  or  Buffer  any  one  of  the  expedition 


■t 


■4  "^ 


^ 


/- 


COMMANDER    DE    HAVEN. 


/ 


493 


to  commit,  the  least  act  of  hoslUity  against  the  enemy,  of  whatevei  nation  he 
BPiay  be. 

J  Notwithstanding  th«  directions  ,in  which  you  have  been  recommended  to 

carry  your  examinations,  you  may,  on  arriving  out  upon  the  field  of  operation, 

-,   find  that  by  departing  from  them  your  search  would  probably  be  more  effectual. 

The  Department  h^  every  confidence  In  your  judgment,  and  relies  implicitly 
upon  your  discretion  /  and  should  it  appear  during  the  voyage  that,  by  directing 
your  attention  to  poii^te  not  named  in  this  letter,  traces  of  the  absent  expedition 
would  probably  be  found,  you  will  not  faU  to  examine  such  points.  But  you 
will  on  no  account  ^elessly  hazard  the  safety  of  the  vessels  under  your  com- 
mand, or  unnecessarily  expate  to  danger  the  officers  anft  men  committed  to 
your  charge.  / 

Unless  circumstances  should  favor  you,  by  enabling  you  to  penetrate,  before 
the  young  ice  begins-to  make  in  the  fall,  far  into  the  unexplored  regions,  or  tb 
discover  recent  traces  of  the  jnissing  ships  and  their  gallant  crews,  or  unless 
you  should  gain  a  position  from  which  you  could  commence  operations  in  the 
season  of  1861  with  decided  advantage,  you  will  endeavor  not  to  be  caught  in 
the  ice  during  the  ensuing  winter,  but,  after  having  completed  your  examina- 
tions for  the*eason,  make  your  escape,  and  return  to  New  York  in  tlie  fall. 

You  are  especially  enjoined  not  to  spend,  if  ifcan  be  avoided,  more  than  one 
winter  in  the  Arctic  regions. 

Wishing  you  and  your  gallant  companions  all  success  in  your  noble  enter- 
prise, and  with  the  trust  in  God  that  He  will  take  you  and  them  in  his  holy 
Keeping,  I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

■ '  William  Ballakd  Pesstoh. 

To  Edwin  J.  De  Haven,  Llentenant  commanding  the  > 

American  Arctic  Expedition,  Ac,  New  York.  -     )  ' 


Jl»&  J'        ' 


494 


COMMANDER    DE     HAVEN   S 


/ 


B. 


LIEUT.  DE  HAVEN'S  OFFICIAL  REPORT  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARC- 
TIC EXPEDITION. 

V.  8.  Brig  Advance,        ) 
New  York,  October  4,  16SI.  \ 

Sir, — I  hare  the  honor  to  submit  the  following  as  the  proceedings  of  the 
squadron  under  my  command  subsequent  to  the  22d  of  August,  1850,  up  to 
which  time  the  Department  is  already  advised  of  its  movements. 

On  the  23d  of  August  we  approached  Port  Leopold ;  but  the  necessity  of  a 
detention  here  to  search  for  information  was  precluded  by  our  falling  in  with 
the  English  yacht  Prince  Albert,  Commander  J'orsyth,  R.  N.  He  informed  us 
that  the  harbor  was  still  filled  with  ice,  so  as  to  render  it  iikiccessible  to  ves- 
sels. A  boat,  however,  had  been  sent  in,  but  no  traces  of  the  missing  expedi- 
tion were  found.  ' 

We  now  stood  over  for  the  north  shore,  passing  to  the  eastward  of  Leopold 
Island,  threading  our  way  through  much  heavy  stream-ice.  Barrow's  Straits 
to  the  westward  presented  ons.mas8  of  heavy  and  closely-packed  ice,  extend- 
ing close  into  the  coast  of  North  Si^merset.  On  the  north  shore  we  found  open 
water,  reaching  to  the  westward  as  far  as  Beechy  Island. 

At  noon  on  the  26th  we  were  off  Cape  Riley,  where  the  vessel  was  hove  to, 
and  a  boat  sent  ashore  to  examine  a  cairn  erected  in  a  conspicuous  position. 
It  was  found  to  contain  a  record  of  H.  B.  M.'s  ship  Assistance,  deposited  the 
day  before.  Another  record  informed  us  that  our  consort  had  visited  the  cape 
at  the  same  time  with  the  Assistance. 

Fragments  of  painted  wood  and  preserved  meat  tins  were  picked  up  on  the 
low  point  of  the  cape ;  there  were  also  other  indications  that  it  had  been  the 
camping  ground  of  some  civilized  traveling  or  hunting  party.  Our  speculations 
at  once  connected  them  with  the  object  of  our  search. 

While  making  our  researches  on  shore,  the  vessel  was  set  by  a  strong  cur- 
rent near  the  point,  where,  becoming  hampered  by  some  masses  of  ice,  she  took 
the  ^ound.  Every  effort  was  made  to  get  her  off,  bi|t  the  falling  tide  soon  left 
'her  hard  and  fast.  We  now  lightened  her  of  alLjyeighty  articles  about  deck, 
and  prepared  to  renew  our  efforts  when  the  tidelSSuld  rise.  This  took  place 
about  midnight,  when  she  was  hauled  off  without  apparent  ii^ury. 

The  Prince  Albert  approached  us  while  aground,  and  Commander  Forsyth 
tendered  his  assistance  ;  it  was  not,  however,  required.  Soon  after,  the  Res- 
cue came  in  sight  from  around  Beechy  Island,  and  making  us  oiit  in.  our  awk- 
ward predicament,  hove  to  in  the  offing,  and  sent  a  boat  in.  She  had  been  up 
Wellington  Channel  as  far  as  Point  Innes.  The  condition  of  the  ice  prevented 
her  from  reaching  Cape  Hotham  (the  appointed  place  of  rendezvous),  so  she 
had  returned  in  search  of  us. 

On  the  26th,  with  a  light  breeze,  we  passed  Beechy  Island,  and  run  through 

a  narrow  lead  to  the  north.    Immediately  above  Point  Innes  the  ice  of  Wel- 

Jington  X^hannel  wa»  fixed  and  unbroken  from  shore  to  shore,  and  bad  eseiT^ 

indication  of  having  so  remained  for  at  least  three  years. 


It  was  generally 


«te 


J-  - 


OFFICIAL    BEPORT. 


495 


Jr»hS  S.^.^ta  nS  hi         '°  "*"°  "  ""»"  ■"""•  °"*'  ">«  '" 
fk.  pJace  '  °"  '"  "'='""'  "»'"  •  "■"-We  change  .h«u 

.-» Of  ,he  ™  i-jLpp?.:  Er.CwTr.'krr™'  ^'"  "• 

correct     Three  wP^lt„T      ^""'"-    °"  ^^'^i'"'""".  Ws  report  prdved  to  be 
^^^'^Z;^:::^  P«i-d  bead-boards  of 

Ist. 
"  Sacred  to  the  memory  of  W.  Braine  RMHuroir'i.     .^ 

2d. 

"Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Jno.  Hartwen  A  B    H  m  q  .  ir    u     .    '  . 

year,.    .Thus  saith  the  Ld  of  hosts^iSder  ^'„r  ways  i "        "''  ^''  ** 

3d. 

ditil?h?*  '^''"' "?"  ''^^'^"  unmistakable  evidences  of  the  missinir  exne- 

iZof  ."/  ""'''."'  *"*  ^'"*''  ''«^«-    ^•"'y  consisted  ofTnnZCS^ 
■craps  of  old  rope  and  canvas ;  the  blocks  on  which  stood  th«    '       T        f 

With  many  pieces  of  coal  and  iron  around  it  ThTont  ^,  „f  7  '  *"'"'• 

houses,  supposed  to  have  been  the  site  oViie  ObSrry    " -^^^^ 
.heltering  the  mechanics.    The  chips  and  sHavin^Tthlcairr  stm  Z 
mained.    A  short  distance  from  this  was  found  a  larw  «um^T  ^ 

^t  tins  aU  having  the  sam^lab^  thosaibtd  aVK^^ 
From  an  these  mdicationn  th«  infi>ro.,»<. u  _-,...    . 


( 


^om  an  these  md.cations  the  inference  could  not  fail  to  be  arrived  at  that 


,//" 


f' 


496 


COMMANDER    DE     HAVEN    8 


the  Erebus  and  Terror  had  made  this  thejr  first  winter  quarters  after  leaving 
England.    The  spot  was  admirably  chosen  for  the  security  of  the  ships,  as  well 
aa  for  their  early  escape  the  following  season.    Every  thing,  too,  went  to  prove,    , 
up  to  this  point,  that  the  expedition  was  well  organi*ed,  and  that  the  vessels  had 
not  received  any  material  Injury. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  28th  of  August,  H.  B.  M.  ship  Resolute  (Captain 
Austin),  with  her  steam-tender,  arrived  from  the  eastward.  Renewed  iflTorts 
were  made  by  all  parties  to  discover  some  written  notice,  which,  according  to 
his  instructions,  Sir  J.  Franklin  ought  to  have  deposited  at  this  place  in  some 
conspicuous  position.  A  cairn  of  stones,  erected  on  the  highest  part  of  the  isl- 
and,  was  discovered.  A  most  thorough  search  with. crows  and  picks  was  in- 
stituted at  and  about  it,  in  the  presence  of  all  hands.  .This  search  was  contin- 
ued for  several  days,  but  not  the  slightest  vestige  of  a  record  could  be  found. 
The  graves  were  not  opened  or  disturbed. 

Captain  Sir  John  Ross  had  towed  out  from  England  a  small  vessel  of  about 
twelve  tons.  He  proposed  leaving  her  at  this  point,  to  fall  back  upon  in  case 
of  disaster  to  any  of  the  searching  vessels.  Our  contribution  to  supply  her 
was  three  byrels  of  provisions. 

From  the  most  elevated  part  of  Beechy  Island  (about  eight  hundred  feet  high) 
an  extensive  view  was  Jiad,  both  to  the  north  and  west.^  No  open  water  could 
be  seen  in  either  direction. 

On  the  27th  of  August  we  cast  off  from  Beechy  Island,  and  joined  our  consort 
at  the  edge  of  the  fixed  ice,  near  Point  Innes.  Acting  Master  S.  P.  Griffin,  com- 
mander  of  the  Rescue,  had  just  returned  from  a  searching  excursion  along  the 
shore,  on  whibh  he  had  been  dispatched  forty-eight  hours  before.  Midshipman 
Lovell  and  four  men  composed  his  party.  He  reports  that,  pursuing  carefully 
his  route  to  the  northward,  he  came  upon  a  partially-overturned  cairn,  of  large 
dimension?,  on  the  bea^  a  few.  miles  south  of  Cape  Bowden.  Upon  strict  ex- 
amination, it  appeared  to  have  lieen  erected  as  a  place  of  depM  of  provisions. 
No  clew  could  be  found  within  it  or  around  as  to  the  persons  who  built  it,  neither 
could  its  age  te  arrived  at. 

At  two  P.M.  of  the  28th.  reached  Cape  Bowden  without  further  discovery. 
Erecting  a  cairn,  containing  the  information  that  would  prove  useful  to  a  di»-  . 
^  tressed  party,  he  commenced  his  jodimey  back.  t 

Until  tlie  3d  day  of  SeptenAer,  we  were  detained  at  tfljidtpoint  by  the  closing 
in  of  the  ice  from  the  southward,  occasioned  by  strong*northeast  winds,  a(> 
companied  with  thick  weather  and  snovi'.  On  this  day  the  packed  ice  move! 
off  from  the  edge  of  the  fixed  ice,  leaving  a  practicable  leadto  the  westward. 
Into  which  we  at  once  stood.  At  midnight,  when  about  two  thirds  the  way 
across  the  channel,  the  closing  ice  arrested  oar  progress.  We  w<*re  in  some 
danger  from  heavy  masses  coming  against  us,  but  both  vessels  passed  the  night 
uninjured.  In  the  evening  of  the  4th  we  were  able  to  make  a  few  more  miles 
westing,  and  the  following  day  we  reached  Barlow's  Inlet.  The  ice  being  im- 
practicable to  thasouthward,  we  secured  the  vessels  at  its  entrance.  The  As- 
sistance and  hoj^team-tender  were  seen  off  Cape  Hotham,  behind  which  they 
disappeared  in  the  course  of  the  day. 
Barl^'s  Inlet -would  afford  good  shelter  lor  Tessels  in  case  of  necessity,  but 

It  would  require  some  cutting  to  get  in  or  out.    The  ice  of  last  winter  still  re 


miffied  unbroken. 


-'Ji^ . 


■\" 


OFFICIAL    REPORT. 


407 


bought  u,  to  a7e;Z,a'„7Zl  th'"*  "'"''  ^^'^'^'^  "^  '""^  '''« •  '""««'*• '» 
•el.  were  deaor  ed  Zde  L  "  ''"  '  ''       "'  ^"*"'"'  """'""*  '"^ 

into  .eriou,  conair^r '  r^o^.  arnTalT^^^^^^^ 

Seti^M ItS  wTnd  7  "T"'"'  ""  "'^*"«  immediately  upon  this  decision. 

gale  Which  coming  off,  the  ice  brought  with  it  ck,„ds  of  drift  snC 

from  r    T^-  IT*  '  ***  '^«'""  "'^  '•=«•    The  driving  snow  soon  hid  her 

5^1,2  J"".^^^*"*^  «<«»«  nea"-  meeting  the  same  fate.    The  edge  of  the 

fin.7h:  K  !^    '  ""•*"  *®  '*"'  "'■^hich  we  found  our  coneort,  made 

STi!  «^  ,  ?  '^'" 'he  inclemency  of  the  weather.  In  bringing  to  under 
the  tee  of  the  island,  she  igd  the  misfortune  to  spring  her  rudSS  L  that  o„ 
JOtatag  u^ft^wa.  with  muoh  difficulty  she  could  steer     To7ns "e  Z^^^ 

up  Wth  a  fine  breeie  from  flje  westward.  Off  Cape  Martyr  we  left  th«  Pn«ii.V 
«iu.d™„  under  Captain  Auatin.    About  ten  mileffS'to !,«  e«t  the^ 

1^ft,  .  .K    ;  ^ J*-  **  """^  advanced  as  far  as  Cape  Hotham.    Thence 

ta.^^™J?„?"""^'"'"'"  ""*•"  "'«''^ «"""«'» "» »»•««.  'here  w^S-' 
^t  Sl^m^  """'"^  T*"  "•"  ""^  ''^-  '^"''  ^'*  «  8»<^  hreeze.  would 
™iJt?  t  T^  ^"""•^ '  "*"*  unfortunately,  the  wind,  when  it  was  most  re- 
SS  SmJnL  ^,V •»°''7''h  Which  the  surface  of  the  water  ^vas  cohered 

S?wihZ;»„„'{?     '""!';  ''"""'°'"  "'•*•  *""«»»  ^»>'«'h  it'was  impoS  ' 
ble.withrilo«,.ppli,noeMoforcetheTes,el,.    AtSP.M  thev c^nu^tn nT!; 


•^ "^  — ;; ~,  w^  .www  Mip  TPPppiB.       Al 

ne  ten  mueii  to  the  east^TBarlbwVSletT 


A 


'.S'l 


498 


COMMAfJDER    BE    HAVEN    8 


The 'following  day  the  wind  hauled  to  the  southward,  from  which  quarter  it 
lasted  till  the  1 9th.  During  this  period  the  young  ice  was  broken,  its  edges 
squeezed  up  into  hummocks,  and  one  floe  OTemin  by  another  until  it  all  as- 
sumed the  appearance  of  heavy  ice. 

The  vessels  received  some  heavy  nips  from  it,  but  they  withstood  them  with- 
out  injury.  Whenerer  a  pool  of  water  made  its  appearance,  ey;ery  effort  was 
made  to  reach  it,  in  hopes  it  would  lead  us  into  Beechy  Island,  or  some  other 
place  where  the  vessel  might  be  placed  in  security ;  for  the  winter  set  in  un- 
usually early,  and  the  severity  with  which  it  commenced  forbade  all  hopes  of 
our  being  able  to  return  this  season.  I  now  became  anxious  to  attain  a  point 
in  the  neighborhood  from  whence,  by  means  of  land  parties,  in  the  spring,  a 
goodly  extent  of  Wellington  Channel  might  be  examined. 

In  the  mean  time,  under  the  influence  of  the  south  wind,  we  were  being  set 
up  the  channel.  On  the  18th  we  were  above  Cape  Bowden,  the  most  northern 
point  seen  on  this  shore  by  Parry 

The  land  on  both  shores  was  seen  much  further,  and  trended  considerably  to 
the  west  of  north.  To  account  for  this  drift,  the  fixed  ipe  of  Wellington  Chan- 
nel, which  we  had  observed  in  passing  tp  the  westward,  must  have  been  broken 
up  and  driven  to  the  southward  by  the  heavy  gale  of  the  I2th. 

On  the  19th  the  wind  veered  to  the  north,  which  gave  us  a  southeriy  set, 
forcing  us  at  the  same  time  with  the  western  shore.  This  did  not  last  long, 
for  the  next  day  the  wind  hauled  .again  to  the  south,  and  blew  fVesh,  bringing 
the  ice  in  upon  us  with  much  pressure.  At  midnight  it  broke  up  all  around  us, 
so  that  we  had  work  to  |haintain  tlie  Advance  in  a  safe  position,  and  keep  her 
from  being  separated  frbm  her  consort,  which  was  immovably  fixed  in  the 
centre  of  a  large  Jfloe.  ■^" 

We  continuedlb  d|?ft  slowly  to  the  N.N.  W.  until  the  22d,  when  our  progress 
appeared  to  ^tm^^d  by  a  small  low  island,  which  was  discovered  in  that  di- 
rection, alKm  s^en  miles  distant.  A  channel  of  three  or  four  miles  in  width 
8eparated|R  from  Com wallis  Island.  This  latter  island,  trending  northwest  from 
our  position,  tenninated  abruptly  in  an  elevated  cape,  to  which  I  have  giyen  the 
name  of  Manning,  after  a  warm  personal  friend  and  ardent  supporter  oftAe  ex- 
pedition. Between  Comwallis  Island  and  some  distaB^  high  land  visible  in  the 
nortl),  appeared  a  wide  channel  leading  to  the  westward.  A  dark,  misty-looking 
ckiud  which  hung  over  it  (technically  termed  frost  smeke),  was  indicative  of 
much  open  water  in  that  direction. 
..£^  This  was  the  direction  to  which  my  instructions,  referring  to  the  investigaf 
>,'  tions  at  the  National  Observatory  concerning  the  winds  and  currents  of  the 
ocean,  directed  me  to  look  for  open  water. 

Nor  was  the  open  water  the  only  indication  that  presented  itself  in  confirma- 
tion of  this  theoretical  coi^ecture  as  to  a  milder  climate  in  that  direction.  As 
we  entered  Wellington  Channel,  the  signs  of  animal  life  became  more  abundant, 
and  Captain  Penny,  commander  of  one  of  the  English  expeditions,  who  after- 
ward penetrated  on  sledges  much  toward  the  region  of  the  frost  smoke,  much 
further  than  it  was  possible  for  us  to  do  in  our  vessels,  reported  that  he  actually 
arrived  on  the  bprders  of  this  open  sea. 

Thus  these  admirably  drajnfn  instructions,  deriving  arguments  from  the  en- 
larged and  comprehensive  system  of  physical  research,  not  only  pointed  with 
flmnhflBJB  to  an  'unknown  open  nuA  into  which  TVanHin  had  nrrthphlv  IamiwI  ] 


\ilf- 


. .  ,l^t  ?   ^  4,  tAJ^  \U 


y:^: 


OFFICIAL    REPORT. 


499 


To  the  channel  which  appeared  to  Ipaa  intn  «k«  * 

cloud  of  frost  smoke  hun/as  a  st"  I  hl«  T"  "^^  "'^'  ^'''•"'  '^^ 

«^  p....  w  „.  .H,  „^  ,r^„s  iir;;^"r  ntiro"; 

Th..eaMer„  rtore  of  Wellington  Ch.nnel  .ppenral  lo  ran  nmll.l  with  ih. 

a^  nlSreaJeVeTtr''"    ^  •"''""^^  "^  "^""^  ""'  -^  cLedTe'  ce  Jj 
wifh  snot"  frol"r„'  '"  "~'"'"^"'  •''•^-    "^^  ^^'"*  -«»  '•™"'  "^rtheast. 

pied  in  keeping  it  out.    The  pressure  and  commotion  did  not  cease  till  near 
nudrnght,  When  we  were  very  glad  to  have  a  respite  from  our  la3and  fea  " 

i^a  :^Zr  "" ''"''"''  """  "  "••"""  «""«' ""' "  ^'"--'^•y  -Id 

driSVbutlhtr"S«  w-^'"''"'^'"  ""'  ""*"  *«  *'"  »'■  O^tol^er.  tbe  vessel.  " 
.r^TA   T.      ^? '^"•"l?  ^"«  'ery  light,  the  thermometer  fell  to  minus  12 
andice  formed  over  the  pools  in  sight  sufficiently  strong  to  travel  up^ 
We  WBre  now  strongly  impressed  with  the  belief  that  the  i^  hJTbecom. 

S  Z  '^"  ""f  •  *""  '""'  "^  '••'•""'  •*  «""  *»  -"«»  out  travel  n?p"Z 
from  the  advanced  position  for  the  examination  of  the  lands  to  the  nortftart 

would  materially  faci.ita?S::oS:ror;nie7LLT^^^^^^ 


G 


500 


COMMANDER    DE     HAVEN    S 


was  stai  found  to  be  detached  from  the  shore,  and  a  narrow  lane  of  water  cut 
us  from  it. 

During  the  interval  of  comparative' quiet,  preliminary  measures  were  taken 
for  heating  the  Advance,  and  increasing  her  quarters,  so,  as  to  accommodate 
the  officers  and  crews  of  both  vessels.  No  stoves  h^d  as  yet  been  used  in 
either  vessel ;  indeed,  they  could  not  well  be  put  up  without  placing  a  large 
quantity  of  stores  and  fuel  upon  the  ice.  The  attempt  was  made  to  do  this,  but 
a  sudden  crack  in  the  floe  where  it  appeared  strongest,  cfcusing  the  loss  of  sev- 
eral tons  of  coal,  convinced  us  that  it  was  not  yet  safe  to  do  so.  It  was  not 
until  the  20th  of  October  we  got  fires  below.  Ten  days  later,  the  housing  cloth 
was  put  over,  and  the  officers  and  crew  of  the  Rescue  ordered  on  board  the  Ad- 
vance for'the  winter.  Room  was  found  on  the  deck  of  the  Rescue  for  many  of 
the  provisions  removed  from  the  hold  of  this  vessel.  Still,  a  large  quantity  had 
JQ  be  pl3bed  on  the  ice. 

The  absence  of  fires  below  had  caused  much  discomfort  to  all  hands  ever 
since  the.  beginning  of  September,  not  so  much  from  the  low  temperature,  as 
from  the  accumulation  of  moisture  bji  condensation,  which  congealed  as  the 
temperature  decreased,  and  covered  the  wood- work  of  our  apartments  with  ice. 
Tliis  state  of  things  soon  began  to  work  its  effect  upon  the  health  of  the  crews. 
Several  cases  of  scurvy  appeared  among  them,  and,  netwithstanding  the  inde- 
fatigable attention  and  active  treatment  resorted  to  by  the  medical  officers,  it 
could  not  be  eradicated ;  its  progress,  however,  was  checked. 

AU  through  October  and  November  we  were  drifted  to  and  fro  by  the  chang- 
ing wind,  bftt  never  passing  out  of  Wellington  Channel.  On  the  1st  of  No- 
vember,  the  new  ice  had  attained  the  thickness  of  thirty-seven  inches.  Still, 
frequent  breaks  would  occur  in  it,  often  in  fearful  proximity  to  the  vessels. 
Hummocks,  consisting  of  massive,  granite-like  blocks,  would  be  thrown  up  to 
the  height  of  twenty,  and  even  thirty  feet.  This  action  in  the  ice  was  accom- 
panied with  a  variety  of  sounds  impossible  to  be  described,  but  when  heard 
never  failed  to  carry  a  feeling  of  awe  into  the  stoutest  hearts.  In  the  stillness 
of  an  Arctic  night,  they  could  be  heard  several  miles,  and  often  was  the  rest  of 
all  hands  disturbed  by  them. 
-"  To  guard  against  the  worst  that  could  happen  to  us — the  destruction  of  the 
vessels— the  boats  were  prepared  and  sledges  built.  Thirty  days'  provisionf 
were  placed  in  for  aU  hands,  together  with  tents  and  blanket  bags  for  sleeping  in. 
Besides  this,  each  man  and  officer  had  his  knapsack  containing  an  extra  suit 
of  clothes.    These  were  all  kept  in  readiness  for  use  at  a  moment's  notice. 

For  the  sake  of  wholesome  exercise,  as  well  as  to  inure  the  people  to  joe- 
traveling,  frequent  excursions  were  made  with  our  laden  sledges.  The  offi- 
cers usually  took  the  lead  at  the  drag  ropes ;  and  they,  as  well  as  the  men,  un- 
derwent the  labor  of  surmounting  the  nigged  hummocks  with  great  cheerful- 
ness and  zeal.  Notwithstanding  the  low  temperature,  tU  hands  usually  re- 
turned in  a  profuse  perspiration.  We  had  also  other  sources  of  exercise  and 
amusements,  such  as  foot-ball,  skating,  sliding,  racing,  with  theatrical  repre- 
sentations on  holidays  and  national  anniversaries.  These  amusements  were 
continued  throughout  the  winter,  and  contributed  very  materially  to  the  cheer- 
fulness and  general  good  health  of  all  hands. 

The  drift  had  set  us  gradually  to  the  southeast,  until  we  were  about  five 

miles  to  the  southwest  of  Beechy  Isfcnd      In  this  position  we  remained 


OFFICIAL     REPORT. 


501 


S^^^t.     w      *"•'''  "P  "'■  **"*"•  "'  »»•«  "•^^''y  °f  the  prevailing  windraS 

iSSrk.  ^ V  "°! !.""«  •'"  •"  ''""*'*  "  «° 'he  direction  we'hrdtpur- 

JjttThe  wmds  prevailed  from  the  westward,  and  our  drift  wa.  steady  a^d 

JHH^ward  the  mouth  of  the  sound.  ^  *°^ 

QI^Kprospect  before  us  was  now  any  thing  but  cheering.    We  were  denrivpH 

tions  could  be  earned  on  by  means  of  traveling  parties  irthesJrC     The  vi- 
se^ were  fast  being  set  out  of  the  region  of  search  ^     '^'  '" 

tw„t!^fi'""''fT"'"^'"""'*'^"^'"»^"«*"«"-    The  line  ofour  drift  was  from 
two  to  five  mdes  from  the  north  shore,  and  whenever  the  moving  ice  mTt  12 
any  of  the  capes  or  projecting  points  of  land,  the  obstruction  would  cau2  fTac 
tures  m  it.  extending  off  to  and  far  beyond  us 

«vlT  ""."?  ZT  f^  *"*  ^"'^  """"'  P^minent  Point ;  we  were  but  two  mUes 
from  It  on  the  3d  of  December.    Nearly  all  day  the  ice  was  both  seen  a^  h"ar3 
to  be  m  constant  motion  at  no  great  distance  from  us.    In  the  even^g  a  crack 
m  our  floe  took  place  not  more  than  twenty-five  yards  ahead  of  thTLvance 
r?urtheV  -Vr'  "''".'  ^'^"'"^ '"  '""^  *"'«'  "'•""^  hundred  yardl 

.Tl  iiH  S  ^.  T"'"  """^  unmistakable  sound  of  the  ice  grinding  against 
the  side  of  the  sh.p.  Going  on  deck.  I  perceived  that  another  Sk  ISd  tZn 
place,  passing  along  the  length  of  the  vessel.  , 

It  did  not  open  more  than  a  foot :  this,  however,  was  sufficient  to  liberate 
the  vessel  and  she  rose  several  inches  bodily,  having  become  more  buoyw! 
since  she  froze  m.  The  following  day.  in  the  eveninj.  the  ci^cniedT 
end  yards,  leaving  the  sides  of  the  Advance  entirely?^,  a"d  she  v^a,  oTj 
more  supported  by  and  rede  in  her  own  element.  We  were  noMhrgh  by 
2  means,  m  a  pleasant  situation.  The  floes  were  considerably  brZt  aU 
direcuons  aiound  us.  and  one  crack  had  taken  place  between  the  two  vesseta 
The  Rescue  was  not  disturbed  in  her  Iwd  of  ice  ^ 

December  7th,  at  8  A.M.,  the  crack  in  which  we  were  had  opened  and  formed 
a  lane  of  water  fifty-six  feet  wide,  communicating  ahead  at  the  disUinTof 
saty  feet  with  ioe  of  about  one  foot  in  thickness,  ihich  halld tncrthe 
8d.  The  vessel  was  secured  to  the  largest  floe  near  us  (that  on  which  ow 
Vare  stores  were  deposited).    At  noon  the  ice  was  again  in  jnotion  Td  iZ 

to  c  PM,  affording  us  the  pleasant  DrosDeet  af  ««  i™«*^i-  »^i  «^1*  —  **? 

jf/w-  „#■  .u   u  ^^  .  ""  i»«««w«H  prospect  oj  an  tneyitabte  "Tifp"^etween  tW6 

floes  of  the  heaviest  kind.    In  a  short  time  the  prominent  pointi  took  ouTsire!^ 


4 


502 


COMMANDfiR    DE     HAVEN    S 


on  the  starboard  just  about  the  main-rigging,  and  on  the  port  under  the  counter 
and  ^t  the  forerrigging ;  thus  bringihg  three  points  of  pressure  in  such  a  posi- 
tion  that  it  must  have  proved  fatal  to  a  larger  or  less  strengthened  vessel. 

The  Advance,  however,  stood  it  bravely.  Afler  trembling  and  groaning  yi 
every  joint,  the  ice  passed  under  and  raised  her  about  two  and  a  half  feet. 
She  was  let  down  again  for  a  moment,  and  then  her  stern  was  raised  aboHt  •' 
five  feet.  Her  bows  being  unsupported,  were  depressed  almost  as  much.  Itt 
this  uncomfortable  positipn  we  remained.  The  wind  blew  a  gale  from  the 
eastward,  aM  the  ice  all  around  wds  in  dreadful  commotion,  excepting,  fortu- 
nately, that  in  immediate  contact  with  us.  The  commotion  in  the  ice  continued 
all  through  the  night,  and  we  were  in  momentary  expectation  of  witnessing 
the  destruction  of  both  vessels.  The  easterly  gale  had  set  us  some  tw:o  or  three 
miles  to  the  west. 

As  soon  as  it  was  light  enough  to  see  on  the  9th,  it  was  discovered  that  the 
heavy  ice  in  which  the  Rescue  ba^been  inibedded  for  so  long  a  time  was 
entirely  broken  up,  and  piled  up  around  her  in  massive  hummocks.  On  her 
pumps  being  sounded,  I  was  gratified  to  leaiii  that  she  remained  tight,  notwith- 
standing the  immense  straining  and  pressure  she  must  have  endured. 

During  this  period  of  trial,  as  well  as  in  all  former  and  [Subsequent  ones,  I 
could  not  avoid  being  struck  witbrthe  calmness  and  decision  of  the  officers,  as 
well  as  the  subordination  and  good  conduct  of  the  men,  withoyt  an  exception. 
Each  one  knew  the  iinminence  of  the  peril  that  surrounded  us.  and  was  pre- 
pared to  abide  it  with  a  stout  heart..  There  was  no  noise,  no  confusion.  I  did 
not  detectf-even  in  the  moment  when  the  destruction  ofthe  vessels  seemed  in- 
evitable, a  single  desponding  look  among  the  whole  crew ;  on  the  contrary,  each 
one  seemed  resolved  to  do  his  whole  duty,  and  every  thing  went  on  cheeril]^. 
and  btavely. 

For  my  own  part,  I  had  become  quite  an  invalid,  so  much  so  as  to  prevent 
my  taking  an  active  part  in  the  duties  of  the  vessel,  as  I  always  had  done,  or 
even  from  incurring  the  exposure  necessary  to  proper  exercise.  However,  I 
felt  no  apprehension  that  the  vessel  would  not  be  properly  taken  care  of,  for  I 
had  perfect  confidence  in  one  and  all  by  whpm  I  was  surrounded.  I  knew  them 
to  be  equal  to  any  emergency ;  but  I  felt  linder  special  obligations  to  tlijB  gal- 
lant commander  of  the  Rescue  for  the  efficient  aid  he  rendered  me.  With 
the  kindest  consideration  and  most  cheerfui  alacrity,  lie  volunteered  to  perform 
the  executive  duties  during  the  winter,  and  relieve  me  from  every  thing  that 
might  tend  in  the  least  to  retard  my  recovery.        , 

During  the  remainder  of  December  the  ice  remaj-ia^  quiet  immediately  aroiind 
us,  and  breaks  were  all  strongly  cemented  by  new  ice.  In  our  neighborhood, 
however,  ci«cks  were  daily  visible.  Our  drift  to  the  eastward  averaged  nearly 
six  miles  per  day,  so  that  on  the  last  ofthe  month  we  were  at  the  entrance  of 
tlie  soAnd,  Cape  Osbom  bearing  north  from  us. 

January,  1861.  On  passing  out  of  the  sound,  and  opening  Baffin's  Bay,  to  the 
north  was  seen  a  dark  horizon,  indicating  much  open  water  in  that  direction. 

On  the  11th  a  crack  took  place  between  us  and  the  Rescue,  passing  close 
under  our  st^m.  It  opened,  and  formed  a  lane  of  water  eighty  feet  wide.  In 
the  afternoon  the  floes  began  to  move,  the  lane  was  closed  up,  and  the  edges 
of  the  ice  coming  in  contact  with  so  much  pressure,  threatened  the  demolition 


of  the  narrow  space  which  separated  us  from  the  line  of  fracture.    Fortunately 


tnometer  indie 


:*s'..t 


(  • 


OFFICIAL    EEPORT." 


603 


WhL  L  J!™-^        r".  ^^'  *•"*  *"''"""*'^  ^«'  ««'»tan«^  from  us  700  yards. 

le  Oft  rk,^  ;r  LsSr  "T  V"^  "^'^ "" '"« -  --  - »»««-- 

Ti.»  f„ii  '"^"  ""  *"«  Rescue,  and  of  course  were  carried  with  her 

•       motion.*  Tl'e  STeTfhf c«  17''''''"''  "  """'  """"  «"' '"'°  '■«'«"» 
edges  of  the  thick  ^IJ  crack  near  our  stern  was  soon  broken  up.  tha 

furth'e r  remo^d^nTheoS  sfdeVthr  "I  '/""""•  '^'  "'^"'"^  '"'"'^ 
being  firmly  imbedjedlta vytri  l?rh  "^ ''."""  of  crushing,  and 
This  was  not  thisdase  for  Z  I  i  ^  ^^^  *°"'"^  '*""^*"  undisturbed, 
to  see.  the  floe  waJ  fou^d  to  Z  hTv    *  '°  '"  '"  """  '"  "  """'  "«h»  ^"""gh 

I.  *»  h.C"  "SJ^  ""iVr  r™ """"  •" "'"«"  p-i""- 


* 


' tabe  crD««».r  tn  it.  .>i.iiii..„  1.7  _.    ,  "    "'"  "'owing,  ttwas  dangerous 


.i 


r..,.^.. 


504 


COMMANDER    DE    HAVEN  8 


-V*" 


9^ 


I'he  ice  around  the  veaa^B  fsoon  became  again  cemented  and  fixed,  and  na 
other  rupture  was  e^rienced  until  it  finally  broke  up  in  the  spring  and  allowed 
us  to  escape.  Still  we  kept  driving  to  the  southward  along  with  the  whole 
mass.  Open  lanes  of  water  were  Tisible  at  all  times  from  aloft ;  sometimes  > 
they  wotfld  be  formed  within  a  mile  or  two  of  us.  Narwhals,  seals,  and  dove- 
kies  were  seen  in  them.  Our  sportsmen  were  not  expert  enough  to  procure 
any,  except  a  few  of  the  lattfer,  altlut^gh  they  were  indeflitigabie  in  their  ex- 
ctrtions  to  do  so.  Bears  would  frequently  be  seen  prowling  about;  only  two 
were  killed  during  the  winter ;  others  were  wounded,  but  made  their  escape. 
A  few  of  us  thought  their  flesh  very  palatable  and  wholesome;  but  the  major- 
ity utterly  rejected  it.  The  fl^h  of  the  seal,  when  it  could  be  obtained,  was 
received  with  more  favor. 

As  the  season  advanced,  the  cases  of  scurvy  became  more  numerous,  yet  thc> 
were  all  kept  under  control  by  the  unwearied  attention  and  skillfiil  treatment 
of  the  medical  officers. .  My  thanks  are  due  to  them,  especially  to  Passed  As- 
sistant Surgeon  Kane,  the  senior  medical  officer  of  the  expedition.  I  often  had 
occasion  to  consult  him  concerning  the  hygiene  of  the  crew ;  and  it  is  in  a  great 
measure  owing  to  the  advice  which  he  gave  and  the  expedienti^hich  he  rec- 
ommended, that  the  expeditioii  was  enabled  to  return  without  th^loss  of  one 
man.  By  the  latter  end  of  February  the  ice  had  become  sufficiently  thick  to 
enable  us  to  build  a  trench  around  the  stem  of  the  Rescue,  sufficiently  deep 
-  to  ascertain  the  extent  of  the  injury  she  had  received  in  the  gale  at  Griffith's 
Island.  1 

It  was  not  found  to  be  material ;  the  uppc^  gudgeon  alone  had  been  wrenched 
from  the  stem  post.  It  was  adjusted,  and  the  rudder  repaired  ip  readiness  for 
shipping  when  it  should  be  required.  A  new  bowsprit  was  also  made  fof  her 
out  of  the  few  spare  spare  we  had  left,  and  every  thing  made  seaworthy  in  both 
vessels  before  the  breaking  up  of  the  ice. 

On  the  1st  of  April  a  hole  was  cut  in  some  ice  that.liad  been  forming  since 
our  first  besetment  in  September, ;  it  was  found  to  have  attained  the  thickness 
of  seven  feet  two  inches. 

In  this  month  (April)  the  amelioration  qf  the  temperature  bectun^  quite  sens- 
ible. All  hands  were  kept  at  work,  cutting  and  sawing  the  ice  around  the 
vessels,  in  order  to  allow  them  to  float  once  more.  With  the  Rescue  they 
succeeded,  after  much  labor,  in  attaining  this  object ;  but  around  the  stem  of 
the  Advance  the  ice  was  so  thick  that  our  thirteen-feet  saw  was  too  short 
to  pass  through  it.  Her  bows  and  sides,  ai  far  aft  as  the  gangway,  were  lib- 
erated. 

After  making  some  alteration  in  the  Rescue  for  the  better  accommodation 
of  her  crew,  and  fires  being  lighted  on  board  of  her  several  days  previous,  to  re- 
move the  ice  and  dampness  which  had  accumulated  during  the  winter,  both 
officera  and  crew  'Sfen  transferred  to  her  on  the  24th  of  April.  The  stores  of 
this  vessel,  which  had  been  taken  out,  were  restored,  the  housing  61oth  taken 
df,  and  the  vessel  made  in  every  respect  ready  for  sea.  There  was  little  pros- 
pect, however,  ofaiir  being  able  to  reach  the  desired  eMment  very  soon.  The 
nearest  water  was  a  narrow  lane  more  than  two  miles  distant.  To  cut  through 
the  ice  which  intervened  would  have  been  next  to  impossible.  Beyond  this 
lane,  from  the  mast-head,  wothingbut  jnterminahle  floes  could  bo  aecn.  ItJn»- 
thuught  best  to  wait  in  patience,  and  aUow  nature  to  work  for  ua. 


ii>*f'>*  .-V". 


OFFICIAL    REPORT. 


505 


Stm  ih«  H..!.?  .  ^^  """  ''^"™°  *'''«'y.  and  difficult  to  walk  over 

alone     Mo  e  J"  ^xZZ  il"'  '^"''\'"  '^•"'™  ""^^'^'^  '"""^  »»»«  ~ 
™ust  soo^^r^rnriSertTaX^^^^^^ 

A  few  days  later  wewerf  off  rZw,       u"^*'  '"^"'  '^^  ^^'^  of  January 
of  the  ArctJzone  ^  Waleingham,  and  on  the  27th  pa««ed  ou 

place  between  us  andfhe Kuf atd "n  atw      ''  .""T^  '"  *^"*"^  ^""'^ 
inunense  field  in  which  Lh!^!'       <    u  /^^  °"""'^^  thereafter  the  whole 

entirely  liberated,  the  Advance  only  oartlallv     'A?  The  Rescue  was 

was  imbedded  still  adhererto  her  ^^^^^31!! »"'  '"  Jl'''  ""''  ""'""'^ 
elevated  in  its  unsightly  Doition     Th«  n  T?        "'  ^"'  ''^^P"'^  ''^'  «'«™ 

the  people  went  to  wZl  ZTnZJ       1     ,^'*''  '^"'''  "^"'  ^""^  ''^P^^ars 
eighrhours  succeeded     SI  !    *  ,   """"^  """■  ^"^  "^^^  ^'''^  "'^^  <"«'  forty- 

The  wind,  which  in  the  ice  was  merely  frpah  nm™;.  ♦ '  k    •     . 

C' m»  us:s jr-  ™7^  •^-^sroi'r::,c»' 

iDg.    When  it  moderated,  the  coast  of  Greenland  \yas  in  sight 


-tiad  two  ot^jeotrtiTWfingffieiel 


00 


i 


p# 


506 


COMMANDER     DE     HAVEN   S 


arriving,  could  be  much  bettet  obtained,  and  the  former  quite  as  well,  at  Lieve- 
ly,  on  Disco  Island,  for  which  place  I  bore  up,  leaving  orders  for  the  Rescue  to 
follow  us.    We  arrived  on  the  17th,  and  the  Rescue  joined  us  the  day  after. 

The  crews  were  indulged  with  a  run  on  shore  every  day  that  we  remained, 
Which  they  enjoyed  exceedingly  after  their  tedious  winter  confinement.  This 
recreation,  together  with  a  few  vegetables  of  an  antiscorbutic  character  tvhich 
were  obtaing^  was  of  much  benefit  to  them.  There  were  no  fresh  provisions 
to  be  had  here  at  this  #ason  of  the  year.  Fortunately,  one  of  the  Danish  com 
pany's  vessels  arrived  ffcm  Copenhagen  while  we  remained,  and  from  her  we 
obtained  a  few  articles  that  we  stood  much  in  need  of  The  company's  store 
was  nearly  exhausted,  but  what  remained  was  kindly  placed  at  our  disposal. 

On  the  22d,  our  crews  being  much  invigorated  by  their  exercise  on  terra 
firma,  and  the  few  still  affected  with  the  scurvy  being  in  a  state  of  convales- 
cence, we  got  under  way,  with  the  intention  of  prosecuting  the  object  of  the 
expedition  for  one  season  more,  at  least. 

From  the  statement  made  to  us  at  Lievely,  the  last  winter  had  been  an  ex- 
traordinary one.  The  winds  had  prevailed  to  an  unusual  degree  from  the  nortli- 
west,  and  the  ice  was  not  at  any  time  fixed.  The  whaling  fleet  had  passed  to 
the  northward  previous  to  our  arrival. 

On  the  24th  we  met  with  some  obstruction  from  the  ice  off  Hare  Island, 
aiid  on  the  follbwing  day  our  progress  was  completely  arrested  by  it  at  Storoe 
Island.  In  [peeking  for  a  passage  we  got  beset  in  a  pack  near  the  lee  shore, 
near  to  which  we  were  carried  by  the  drifling  Ice,  and  narrowly  escaped  being 
driven  on  the  rocks.  Alter  getting  out  of  this  difficulty,  we  availed  ourselves 
of  every  opening  in  the  ice,  and  worked  slowly  to  the  northward,  near  the  shore. 

On  the  1st  of  July  we  were  off  the  Danish  port  and  settlement  of  Proven, 
and  as  the  condition  of  the  ice  rendered  further  progress  at  present  impossible, 
we  went  in  and  anchored  to  wait  for  a  change. 

Here,  again,  some  scurvy  grass  was  collected,  and  the  men  allowed  to  run  on 
shore. 

On  the  3d  we  got  under  way,  and  ran  out  to  look  at  the  ice  ;  but  finding  it 
still  closely  packed,  returned  to  our  anchorage. 

On  the  6th  the  accounts  from  our  look-out  on  the  hill  near  us  were  more  fa- 
vorable. Again  we  got  under  way,  and  finding  the  pack  somewhat  loose,  suc- 
ceeded in  making  some  headway  through  it.  The  following  day  we  got  into 
clear  water,  and  fell  in  with  two  English  whaling  vessels,  the  Pacific  and  Jane. 
To  their  gentlemanly  and  considerate  commanders  we  are  much  indebted  for 
the  supplies  furnished  us,  consisting  of  potatoes,  turnips,  and  other  articles, 
most  acceptable  to  people  in  our  condition.  Much  interesting  news  was  also 
gained  from  them  respecting  important  events  which  had  occurred  since  we 
left  home. 

Their  statements  as  to  the  condition  of  the  ice  to  the  northward  was  any 
thing  but  flattering  to  our  prospects.  They  had  considered  it  so  very  unfavor- 
able as  to  abandon  the  attempt  to  push  through  Milville  Bay,  and  were  now 
on  their  way  to  the  southward. 

On  the  8th  we  communicated  with  the  settlement  of  Uppemavik.    The  next 

day  two  more  English  whaling  vessels  passed  on  their  way  to  the  southward. 

)^i  ike-aameji^  ihe  M'LellanrOf  New  London^the^nly.Aimerican  whaleL 

jb  Bafnn>'fMy;^va8  descried,  also  standing  south.    On  communicating  with 


— -4- 


KP.'.'V- 


OFFICIAL    REPORT.  '  QQJ 

^^:;^SZ:;  a-^  letters.„d  papers  n,.„  ho.e.  .ra„sm.tted  by  the 

,        were  purchased  from  heX  '  '""'  ^'  ^''""*  '»"'="  '"  •^f 

mirof t  wLf„n£teL-:r  Th"«"* "  *''^'""^'"  -^  -^  '^•^  - 

us  by  the  Pacific  and  j'ane  rS3  o  the  ulvrar'''^.'"  ''""""^^  ^*^''" 
an  early  passage  through  MelviUoBay        ""'^^""'^"'"^  <=™'l'"""  "^ '"«  ice  fo, 

lotte,ofdo.;  h1  ofdi  Ann\/^"n^  Advice,  of  do. ;  Princess  Char- 
do. ;  and  LodaiL^of'-^' l""'  '  Regalia  of  Kirkaldy;  Chieftain,  of 
names  of  their  eTtSsY„r7„„  ^^  "°f  ^""^  ""f"'^""^t«^ly  ^t  fault  as  to  the 
vied  with  the  otCrSowrl  ^'"""""^^^^^l  commanders,  each  of  whom 
be  in  want  orS^Z^rZ^Z^^-:^y  {,-  ^  '"^ 
to  compensate  them  they  would  not  XZT'-    T         '     ^-    ^^^  Proposition 

to  our  position,  afler  havingUen  "  S^fot  s:veraS  '^^^  T'T  T 
_  commanaer,eamemiSSard  and  brought  us  letters  ^  ""'^' ''" 

The  berth  m  which  our  vessels  were  made  faot  in  fh,-  ,>i 

am  wm  '^  **!"  '""  "'"""'^  "  ""'"'  ^""^  ^'«  g"*  """"r  way.    Hence  till  the 

Jisday.whi,erunni„gthr^oughrr:wri.tTc   ZsX^^^^       Th^      ' 
Advance  was  caught  in  a  tight  place,  and  pretty  severely  S.D^     Wp  J^^ 
aged  to  unship  her  rudder,  but  before  it  could  be  secured  thPn™,.- 

_thoug^earus,wer^mbette^berths^^^^^ 


We  were  closely  beset  in  this  position,  and  utterly  unable  to  move  until  the 


608        COM.    DE     HAVEN    8    OFFICIAL     REPORT. 


/ 


4th  of  August,  when  the  jce  slacking  a  little,  we  succeeded  in  getting  hold  of 
the  land  ice  one  mile  Airther  to  the  north.  The  Prince  Albert  was  still  in  the 
pack,  a  mile  or  two  to  the  southward  of  us.  Mr.  Kennedy  informed  me  that 
it  was  his  intention  to  abandon  this  route  and  return  to  the  southward,  as  soon 
as  his  vessel  could  be  extricated  from  iet  present  position,  in  hopes  of  finding 
the  ice  more  practicable  in  that  direction.  Some  letters  and  papers  that  he  had 
brought  out  for  the  other  English  searching  vessels,  he  placed  on  board  of  us ; 
linfortunately,  we  were  unable  to  deliver  them. 

We  lost  sight  of  the  Prince  Albert  on  the  13th.  For  our  own  part,  there 
was  nu  possibility  of  moving  in  any  direction.  The  berth  we  had  taken  up,  un- 
der the  impression  that  it  was  a  good  and  sAfe  one,  proved  a  regular  trap.;  for. 
the  drift  pack  not  only  del  in  upon  us,  but  innumerable  bergs  came  drilling  along 
from  the  southward,  and  stopped  near  our  position,  forming  a  perfect  wall  around 
us  at  not  more  than  from  two  hundred  to  four  hundred  yards  distance.  Many 
unsuccessful  attempts  were  made  to  get  out.  The  winds  were  light,  and  all 
motion  in  the  ice  bad  apparently  ceased.  The  young  ice,  too,  began  to  form 
rapidly,  and  was  only  prevented  from  cementing  permanently  together  the 
broken  masses  around  us  by  the  frequent  undulations  occasioned  by  the  over- 
turning or  falling  to  pieces  of  the  neighboring  bergs. 

My  anfjety  daily  increased  at  the  prospect  of  being  obliged  to  spend  another 
winter  in  a  similar,  if  not  worse  situation,  than  was  that  of  the  last. 

On  the  18th  the  ice  was  somewhat  looser.  We  immediately  took  advantage' 
of  it,  and  managed  to  find  an  opening  between  the  large  bergs  sufficiently  wide 
to  admit  the  passage  of  the  vessels.  Outside  the  bergs  we  had  open  water 
enough  io  work  in. 

We  stood  to  the  northwest,  but  the  lead  closing  at  the  distance  of  a  few 
miles,  and  the  ice  appearing  as  unfavorable  as  ever,  I  did  not  deem  it  prudent 
to  run  the  risk  of  besetment  again  at  this  late  period  of  the  season,  and  con- 
sidering that  even  if  successful  in  crossing  the  pacH,  it  would  be  too  late  to 
hope  to  attain  a  point  on  the  route  of  search  as  far  as  we  had  been  last  year, 
therefore,  in  obedience  to  that  clause  in  my  instructions  which  says,  "  You  are 
especially  enjoined  not  to  spend,  if  it  can  be  avoided,  more  than  one  winter  in 
the  Arctic  regions ;"  accordingly,  with  sad  hearts  that  our  labors  had  served  to 
throw  80  little  light  upon  the  object  of  our  search,  it  was  resolved  to  give  it  up 
and  return  to  the  United  States. 

We  therefore  retraced  our  steps  to  the  southward.  The  ice  that  had  so  mucli 
impeded  oilr  progress  had  entirely  disappeared.  We  touched  for  refreshment 
by  the  way  at  some  of  the  settlements  on  the  coast  of  Greenland,  where  we 
were  most  kindly  and  hospitably  received  by  the  Danish  authorities. 

Leaving  HqlSteinberg  on  the  6th  of  September  for  New  York,  the  two  vessels 
were  separated  in  a  gale  to  the  southward  of  Cape  Farewell.  The  Advance  ar- 
rived on  the  30th  ultimo,  and  the  Rescue  on  the  7th  instant,  with  grateful  hearts 
from  aU  on  board  to  a  kind  and  superintending  P>rovidence  for  emr  safe  deliv- 
erance from  danger,  shipwreck,  and  disaster  during  so  periloj]0  a  voyage. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 
(Signed)         Edwin  J.  Dk  Haven,  Lieut,  coimnanding  Arctic  Expedition. 

To  the  Hononbia  WUliam  A.  Oraham,  Secretary  oftbe  Navy,  Waahington. 


METEOROLOQICAL     ABSTRACT. 


509 


METEOROLOGICAL  ABSTRACT^      ^- 

Thb  meteorological  abstract  was  prepared  froih  the-  private  journal  of  Dr 
Kane  and  the  notes  in  the  log-book  of  the  Advance. 

The  latitude  and  longitude,  ocean  currents,  directions,  andVorce  of  winds 
are  given  as  in  the  "  log."  ' 

C-nlll  ^T^i"^  abbreviations,  adopted  by  Lieutenant  Maury  from  those  of 
Captam  Beechy,  ate  used  to  denoie  the  state  of  the  weather : 


A  for  blue  sky. 
c  "   clouds. 
d  "  drizzling  ra:in. 
/  "  thick  fog.     ; 

dark  stormy  weather. 

hail. 

lightning. 

misty  or  hazy, 

cloudy. 


STATE   0»    WEATHER. 


h 
I 

m 

0 


The  force  of  the  wind  is  marked  as  follows : 
0  for  calm.  .  ' 


I 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 


light  airs 
light  breeze, 
gentle.   • 
moderate, 
fresh, 
stormy. 


p  for  passing  showers. 

q  "   squally. 

^    r  "   continuous  rain. 

«."   snow. 

t"  thunder. 

«  "   ugly  threatening  weather 

■  w  "   wet  dew. 

A  star  *  under  any  letter  denote 

^       an  extraordinary  degree!! 

ollowEf:                           J 
7  for  moderate  gale. 

8  "   fresh  gale. 

9  "   stormy  gale. 

10  "   heavy  gale. 

11  "   storm. 

12  "   hurricane. 


The  state  of  the  weather,  and  the  ditection  and  force  of  Ihe  wind,  were  noted 
hourly;  the  daily  mean  and  the  true  direction  have  be6n  given  in  the  abstract 
Three  houriy  observations  (with  some  exceptions)  were  made  for  the  temper- 
ature of  air,  and  water,  and  atmospheric  pressure,  of  which  the  daily  mean  read- 
ings  are  given  in  the  abstract.  The  readings  of  the  aneroids  are  given  uncor- 
rected, as  me^e  approximations.  For  all  of  this  labor  I  am  indebted  to  the  in- 
teUigence  and  zeal  of  my  friend.  Mr.  Schott,  of  the  United  States  Coast  Survey. 

E.  K.  K 


3^:5 


-^-t^. 


510 


METEOROLOGICAL     ABSTIIACT. 


V   '^ 


/: 


■jaiauicu«(i 


(ouJHjingjo 


■Jiy  »iii  JO 
iJui«X  o'H 


svwvSSvv 

i'si'ggl-g'g 


"S-gfi  S  o  »  o  C 


n  00  «  0*  q6  o  o 


I-*  no  not  94  M 


■tunufi 


M     S5         M 


■&> 


•^Hvi 


•oooooooe* 
' -v  —  e -^  ■♦  o -^ 


SSSS;SSS» 


Si 

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^««i~    »j      ■<      pit  > 


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CA  1> 

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.^    •    .  ^  o  «  t. 


J_8  g    S  S__S _J3__g  gj  8  g  gi  gj  g  Ij 


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ss     ss 


nn CQ PI  w  V  V ^ 


+ 


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-^We*iS£au':imj!#^'^'--'-**;mr2 


b»  iitj^i^;awyiwtH.<u»««w 


METEOROLOGICAL     ABSTRACT. 


511 


,     ) 


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a 


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^'ft 


512 


METEOROLOGICAL  ABSTRACT. 


«      E 

w 

Q 
W 
,H 

o 

8 

m 
iJ 

o 

if 

Remark*. 

Drift  ice,  pack  ice,  and  many  icebergs  in  sight. 

OffCraostown.    Many  icebergs  in  sight. 

Pack  and  floe  ice. 

Sailing  through  loose  floe  ice. 

Refyacted  detprtion  very  great.     Sailing  through  ice. 

Off  Uppernavik.  Compass  very  sluggish.  Terres- 
trial refVaction  too  great  to  obtain  sight  for  lon- 
gitude.   Many  icebergs  in  sight. 

Sailing  through  the  pack.  At  1 1  P.M.  got  jammed  in 
theice.  Long.,by  bearing  of  Cape  Shackleton,  57° 

4y  00  . 

In  the  pack. 

In  the  pack.    Iceltoo  thick  to  force  through. 

In  the  pack.  Observed  dip  of  magnetic  needle,  770 10*. 

*  Drift  of  the  pack. 

Ice  opened,  gOl  upder  way. 

*  Drift  ofjwik  intwo  days.    Floes  too  closely  pack- 
ed to  moYf .       '    . 

In  the  pack.'    Ice  ifeosening  a  little. 

*  Drift  of  pack. 

1 

e 

0 

■-/ 

\ 

i 

b.  c.  f. 

b.  c. 

b.  c.  0.  f. 

b.  c.  f. 

b. 
b.  c. 

b. 

c. 

0.  f.  c.- 

b.  c.  0. 

b.  c. 

c. 
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^      ,                 .1  ,                  "UA 

MMy.j~«-i     :,    »         netnmtna     WIS 

Of    • 

ll 

S;E.  by  S. 
N. 

N.  iW. 
Variable. 

E.N.E. 
N.  by  W. 

S.E.  by  S. 

S.  by  W. 
S.W.  by  W. 

S.  by  E.- 
N.W.  by  N. 

S.S.W. 
N.E.  by.  E. 

E.N.E. 

N.N.E. 

c 
o 

o 
O 

-unuH 

„S\,  :  :            :"':■.  .J?  -.^     :« 

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N.E.  by  N. 
Northerly. 
Northerly. 

....  v' 

N.* 
N.* 

S.W.byS.-'. 

1' 

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•  :  i  ;  ;  ;  ;     :     :  ;  ;s  ;s   ;  ; 

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55  53  27 
57  08  27 
57  19  48 
57  17  35 

57  15  15 

59  05  15 
59  04  15 

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59  18  09 

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• 

METEOROLOGICAL     ABSTRACT. 


513 


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s.  a.  Q.  *  e.^       C  ci.  bo  ■  ■■ 


g  c  g  g  e  e  c  c  c  =  cct3"*2°^  =  g 


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1    ■•■.—    .    .J 

O  O  O  fc.     .XJ  J3 


s 


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/ 


514 


METEOROLOGICAL     ABSTRACT. 


• 
*  1 

HALF-MONTHLY  ABSTldcTS  OF  THE  LOG-BOOK  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  BRIG  ADVANCE. 

n 

b 
ta. 

< 

pq 

's 

§ 

< 

1 

i  ■ 

Made  fast  to  the  land  floe.    Thick  fog. 

WaQied  about  Jihs  ofa  mile  to  the  eastward. 

Much  ohsiructfd  by  the  bay  ice.  Open  water  to  the 
S.  and  E.    Water  sky. 

Refi-action  very  gteBt.  Ice  opening  to  the  N.E. 
Warped  i<l  of  a  mile. 

Measured  height  ofa  berg  ncir  us,  by  triai>^laliou, 
107  feet.    W4rping  toward  Urowne's  Islands. 

Still  in  park. 

Fasit  with  ice. 

Young  ice,  in  some  places  thick  enough  to  bear  a  man. 

he  drifting  to  ths  leeward.    Glaciers. 

Thermomeier  53°  in  the  sun.  Fog  sometimee  so 
thick  as  not  to  see  a  ship's  length. 

IceopBiiing  a  little. 

Difficulty  in  steering  the  vessel  on  account  of  the  cur- 
rents. 

Beating  to  the  eastward  through  bav  i«>, 

Open  water.    Melville  Pay. 

Rocky  bottom  at  32  (^thorns.    Off  Cace  York. 

in 

V 

Z 

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n 

J?! 
••S 

o.  f.  b. 
b. 
,    b.  f. 

b.  . 

b.c. 

b.  <f. 

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b.c.  f. 
b.  f.o.  - 

0.  f. 
o.f. 

b.c. 
b.c. 
b.c. 

-jawiiKuufj 

orn  J.,,, !»,.,„ 

•29.90 
29.89 
•29.96 

29.94 

69.94 

29.93 
29.96 
30.00 

30.00 

30.07 
30.05 

30.14 
30.02 
30.13 

S 

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JO  JJllJJllgJO 

+30.4 
31.5 

30.8 

31.7 

32.0 

32.2 
32.1 
32.1 
33.3 
34.7 

32.0 
32.2 

34.1 
32.1 
34.4 

+ 

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•Jiy  J'tl  JO 

cc-^;!^       in       o       otjeqi/^jDOD       o  rf^       —Off* 

+1 

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01)1  JU  0JJO  j 

^  — w      G*      ^     ^w^^c*-^      nr^      eic404 

o»   • 

«. 

t1 

ii' 

Variable. 
S.W. 
S.B. 

N.ti.W. 

N.N.W. 

E.N.E. 

N.E. 

N.E. 

E.N.E. 

N.E.  by  N. 

E.  by  N. 
N.E  by  N. 

N.byE.    - 

N. 
Variable. 

g 

liiiitii 

n  111  u!iu 

:  :  ;      :    -      :  :  :  :  :      :  :      :  :  . 

1 

1 

1 

o 

.    -o      .    M      :.;::■     :  :      :  .  : 
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i 

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METEOROLOGICAL 'aBSTRAcT. 


• 

*                                                                                                                                                                                                               * 

* 

HALF-MONTHLY  ABSTRACTS  OF  THE  LOG-BOOK  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  BRIG  ADVANCE. 

i 

X 

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u 
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Sounded  in  30  l^tboms  water,  ittas  of  a  mile  from 
shore.    Off  Point  Innes. 

Off  Point  Innes.  The  tide  changed  and  set  to  the 
south  (true).  The  floe  we  are  f^t  ,to  seems  to 
drift  in  the  same  direction. 

Loose  ice  drifting  to  the  N.  and  W.  (compass). 

True  bearing  of  Cape  Riley,  S.  e?"  42*  E.  Ice  closing 
in  upon  us. 

Sounded  in  38  fathoms  water,  soft  mud.  True  bear- 
ing of  Barlow's  Inlet,  S.  84°  52"  W.    Ice  opening 

Barlow's  Inlet.    Ice  opening  and  closing. 

Off  Barlow's  Inlet.                                   * 

Off  Barlow's  Inlet.    No  change  in  the  Ice. 

Open  water  in  sight  to  the  westward  (true).  Bar- 
row's Strait. 

A  great  deal  of  bay  ice  abont  ns.    Barrow's  Strait. 

No  change  in  the  ice.     Barrow's  Strait. 

Floe  ice  drifting  to  tbe  northward.  Barrow's  Strait. 
A  feeble  aurora  at  midnight. 

Pancake  ice  very  thick.  <  Barrow's  Strait. 

Got  into  a  lead  of  open  water.    Barrow's  Strait. 

Entrance  of  Wellington  Channel.    A  feeble  aurora. 

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A  parhelion  visible. 

Ibe  three  feet  thick.    Off  Beechy  Island. 

Two  parhelia,  visible  from  10  to  12  A.M.   Off  Beechy 

Island. 
Off  Beechy  Island. 
Off  Beechy  l»land. 
Off  Beechy  Island. 
Off  Beechy  Island. 
Aurora  to  the  southward  and  westward,  5  A.M. 

(true).  Drifting  slowly  to  the  northward  and  weat- 

Off  Beechy  Island.  Very  little  drift  since  yesterday. 

Off  Beechy  Island.    Heavy  snow-drift.              ''. 

Ice  much  broken  near  the  vessel. 

Off  Beechy  Island.                                                ^ 

Off  Beechy  Island. 

Off  Beechy  Island 

Off  Beechy  Island.                         . 

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METEOROLOGICAL     ABSTRACT. 


■\-'. 

HALF-MONTHLY  ABSTRACTS  OF  THE  LOG-BOOK  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  BRIG  ADVANCE. 

n 

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Ice  found  to  be  three  feet  thick. 
A  heavy  snow-drift. 

A  heavy  snow-drift.    Could  feel  Ice  through  a  bole 
cut  to  the  depth  of  11  feet. 

*  Drift  since  the  20th  ult.    Position  at  9  P.M.    No 
bottom  at  330  fathoms. 

11  A.M.,  a  parhelion  visible.    10  P.M.,  a  halo  about 

the  moon. 
I.A.M.,  afaint  aurora  to  the  southward  and  eastward. 
7  P.M.,  a  halo  about  th*  moon. 
3  A.M.,  heav^y  snow-drift.    No  bottom  at.a64  fhthoms . 

Line  drifted  southward. 

1  A.M.,  a  bright  paraselene  visible  for  an  hour.  At 
noon,  a  bright  parhelion,  atmosphere  filled  with 
minute  particles  of  snow.  2  P.M.,  heavy  snow- 
drift. 

A  faint  parhelion  visible. 

♦  Drift  since  the  4th.    Position  at  84  P.M. 

1  Means. 

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METEOROLOGIC^tT^  ABShTRAGT. 


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HALF-MONTHLY  ABSTRACTS  OF  THE  LOG-BOOK  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  BRIG  ADVA^E.                ^ 

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Three  fathoms  water.    At  anchor,  PrSren.      \ 
At  anchor.  Proven.                                                ■< 
At  anchor.  Proven.     '•                                            \ 
At  anchor,  Prdverf?                                                   ^( 
At  anchor.  Proven. 

Ice  loose.    Beating  through  loowi  floe  ice. 

Heavy  stream  of  ice.  Off  Sanderson's  Hope.  Lati- 
tude of  Uppernavik  by  midnight  altitude,  72°  55' 
30"  N.  Many  bergs  In  sight.  Beating  along  the 
land. 

Working  through  numerous  bergs.  A  good  deal  of 
ice  in  sight. 

Heavy  bergs  and  loose  Ice.  Land  abom  five  mUes 
distant. 

Run  aground. 

Ice  driviirg  slowly  to  the  northward  on  both  side*  of 
the  island. 

Ice  W«se  Slid  setting  to  the  somh.         » 

c 

s 

■St 

H 

c.  r. 

0.  r. 

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b.  c.  m. 

b.  c. 
b.  c. 
b.  c. 

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b.  c.  f.~ 

J'|l.l'ili|3.JH 

30.48 
30.32 
30.48 
30.41 
30.34 
30.20 
30.26 
30.24 

30.00 

30.19 

30.29 
30.12 
29.92 

10.04 
30.00 

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M  K  T  lO.g  UOLOGICAL     ABSTRACT. 


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METEOaOLOGICAL    ABSTRACT. 


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METEOROLOGICAI^     Fb^TRACT. 


•  ■0 


HALF-MONTHLY    ABSTRACT. 


541 


■J     half-monthLy  abstract 

of  the  mean  Force  of  the  Wind,  the  mean  Temperature  of  the  Air  and  Waler,  and 
the  mean  Height  of  the  Barometer  at  the  Level  of  the  Sea. 


\ 


Mean 
Latitude, 

Month. 

Force  of  the 
Wind. 

Temperatnre  of  Temp,    of   Siir- 
the  Air.        ,  nice  oflhe Waler. 

Height  of  Ba7 
1      roincter. 

o 

1830. 

49.4  N. 
66.8 

June. 

4 
3 

+  41.1 
39.2 

+  40.6 
36.9 

29.95 
29.77 

73.1 

July. 

2 

36.2 

31.7 

29.76 

]t\        ■ 

** 

3 

35.7 

30.1 

29.88 

August. 

2 

35.8 

32.4 

29.99 

75.2 

ti 

4 

34.2 

31.6 

29.97 

74.8 

September. 

3 

27.1 

30.2 

30.18 

75.4 

tt 

3 

16.5 

29.77 

74.9 

October. 

3 

6.9 

::  • 

30.13 

74.8 

t( 

2 

—  2.8 

SO.  18 

74.7 

November, 

4 

—  6.7 

30.01 

74.6 
74.3 

Cecember. 

2 
3 

—  8.6 
•»-16.1 

-- 

30.37 
30.13 

74.3 

I85I. 

2 

—  13.5 

-- 

29.98 

73.8 

January. 

3 

—  16.6 

29.76 

73,3 

(t 

3 

—  17.3 

29.92 

72.5 

February. 

2 

—  26.9 

' 

29.82 

72.1 

i« 

2 

—  32.2 

30.38 

71.7 

March.  * 

3 

—  22.7 

29.98 

71.0 

i( 

,4 

—  11.5 

30.14 

70.3 
69.8 

April. 

1* 

+  6.0 
9.9 

-- 

30.34 
30.47 

68.7 

May. 

3 

16.0 

30.36 

67.2 

(1 

3 

24.2 

30.11 

668 

June. 

3 

32.8    , 

32.0 

30.45 

70.2 

i  ii 

3 

36.7 

32.7 

30,20 

73.3 

July. 

2 

38.3 

32.6 

30.22 

73.8 

u 

3 

36.4 

31.5 

30.22 

74.7 

August. 

2 

34.4 

30.31 

71.8 

t4 

2 

"       37.3 

36.7 

30.08 

64.4    ' 

September. 

3 

40.3 

40.5 

30.09 

fi 


542 


•        FREQUENCY    OF     THE    WINDS, 


J -7 


■     ^  .,        E.  /.    ■ 

TABLE  OF  THE  RELATIVE  FREQUENCY  6f  THE  WINDS 
m  each  Month,  on  the  Meridian  of  Baffin's  Bay  {during' the  Months  of  September 
Ortolcr,  November,  and  December,  on  a  more  Western  Meridian),  showing  thl 
Number  of  Days  on  which  each  of  the  ei^ht  Winds  blow. 


Meun 
Latitude. 


.StN. 
74 
75 
'75 
75 
75 
74 
73 
72 
71 
70 
68 
68 

73 

74 


Mean 
Longitude. 


Month. 


54  W. 
58 
70 
93 
93 
93 
85 
75 
70 
6 

62 
57 
56 
56      • 


June,  1850. 

July. 

August. 

September. 

October. 

November. 

December. 

Jan.,  1851. 

February. 

March. 

April. 

May. 

June. 

July. 

August. 


( Sept.  V. 

For  the  fall  months  .  .  .  <  October  > 

\,  (Nov.  S 

_  ( Dec.  ) 

For  the  winter  months  .  <  Jan.  > 

( Feb.  S 

I  March  ; 

For  the  spring  months    .  \  .\pril  } 

i  May  V 

For  the  summer  months  \  "j"?^  ) 

(mean  of  1850  and '51)1  ."'y  \ 

'  { August  J 

For  the  year  . 


isj^ 


12  I  63 


29 


15 
23 
26 

14 

78 

From  which  it  appears  that  N.  and  N.W.  winds  blow  during  five  months  of 
the  year.  During  the  other  seven  months  the  winds  are  equally  frequent  from 
each  of  the  other  quarters. 


r    6 


23 


32  I  30 


34  142 


\  - 


■'..ski.. 


ACCESS     TO    A     POLAR     SEA. 


543 


&■ 

^ 

* 

3 

4 

1 

9 

1 

4 

2 

6 

3 

1 

6 

8 

6 

12 

12 

6 

6 

3 

11 

1 

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2 

U 

4 

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1 

1 

3 

6 

3 

15 

26 

23 

6 

26 

7 

14 

12" 

78 

7  r  ^  '*«/»""*  to  an  Open  Polar  Sea  in  connection  v,ith  the  Search  after  Sir 

-    t.   ^'"f'""'^  *"  Companions,  read  be/ore  the  American  Geographical  and 

Slc^v,t,cal  Socxety  at  its  regular  monthly  meeting,  by  Dr.  Kane,  December  14, 

Thb  north  pole  the  remote  northern  extremity  of  our  earth's  axis  of  rotation. 
IS  regarded,  even  by  geographers,  with  that  mysterious  awe  whicli  envelops  the 
maccessible  and  unknown.  I 

It  is  shut  out  from  us  by  an  investing  zone  of  ice ;  and  this  hir^ii  is  so  per- 
manent, that  successive  explorers  have  traced  its  putline,  like  5,at  If  an  ordin- 
ary sea-coast.       >  [      f 

ba?!!"L^QnIf  A'n"'T'''  f  ^'"^"'*'  ^"'^  '^''"  ^''*^"«'°"  '»  6ree/land.  asfar 
S  M  I  ^f'Z^"""^"^  «  protruding  tongue  of  ice  from  th^  unknown  north, 
alohg  th^oast  of  Greenland.  I  must  express  a  doubt  if  the  earlV  voyages  of 
Cabot,  and  Frobisher,  and  the  Cortereals  did  more  than  establish  dJtached  points 
L  »^,ii.?'  J  ''"^''^^''  •"'*ever,  of  the  Basque  and  Biscaykn  fishermen, 
about  1675,  to  Cape  Breton,  made  us  aware  of  a  similar  ice-jfaft  along  the  coasts 
of  Labrador  to  the  north  ;  and  the  commercial  route.s  of  the  old  Muscovy  com- 
pany, a.dcd  by  the  Dutch  and  Enghsh  whalers,  extended  this  apross  to  Spit^ 
bergen.  and  thence  to  the  regions  north  of  Archangel,  in  the  Arctic  Seas.  The 
English  navigators  of  the  days  of  Elizabeth,  the  "  notable  worthys  of  the  Northe 
Weste  Passage,"  spoke  of  a  similar  ice-raft  up  Baffin's  and  Hudson's  Bays,  and 
the  Russo-Sibcrians  gave  us  vaguely  a  girdiflg-line  of  ice,  which  iprotruded  irreg- 
ularly  from  tlie  Asiatic  and  European  coasts  into  the  Polar  Ocean  Lastly 
Cook  proved  that  the  same  barrier  continued  across  Behring's  Straits  as  high 
as  70°  44'  north.  ^  ° 

From  all  this  it  appeared  that  the  approaches  to  the  pole  were  barricaded  with 
sohd  ice.  We  owe  to  the  march  of  modern  discovery,  especially  stimulated  by 
the  search  after  its  great  piopeer.  Sir  John  Franklin,  our  ability  accurately  to  de- 
fine  nearly  all  the  coasts  of  a  great  polar  sea,  if  not  to  lay  down  the  no  lessin- 
teresting  coast  of  a  grand  continuous  ice^border  that  encircles  it. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  this  ice,  although  influenced  by  winds,  currents 
and  deflecting  land  masses,  retains  through  the  con-esponding  period  *T-eaoh 
successive  year  a  strikingly  uniform  outline. 

During  the  winter  and  spring,  from  October  to  May,  or  eight  months  of  the 
year,  it  irfay  be  found  traveling  down  the  coast  of  Labrador  almost  to  Newfound- 
land, blockading  the  approaches  into  Hudson's  Bay,  and  cementing  into  one  great 
mass  the  numberless  outlets  which  extend  from  it  and  Baffin's  Bay  to  the  un- 
known coasts  of  the  north. 

Influenced  by  the  earth's  rotation,  this  ice  accumulates  toward  the  Westward, 
leaving  an  uncertain  passage  along  the  eastern  waters  of  Baffin's  Bay  •  after 
which  it  resumes  its  march  along  the  eastern  coast  of  Greenland,  shutting  in  ' 
that  extensive  region  appropriated  to  the  interesting  legend,  or  that  meteoro- 
logical  myth,  as  it  has  been  designated  by  Humboldt,  of  "  I»st  Greenland."_  Ita 


>' 


Twxteourse  IS  to  the  northeast,  sometrmeseiivelopihg  Iceland  V  and  thence,  ex- 


^t. 


■c 


544 


ACCESS     TO     A 


tending  to*  ti.e  cast  by  Jan  Meyen's  Land  and  Spitzbcrgon,  it  crosses  tl.e  merid 
lan  of  Greenwich  at  some  point  between  the  latitudes  of  70°  and  73° 

I  nowca^^your  attention  to  a  remarkable  feature  in  this  great  ice  coast  line 

^Jpon  reaching  a  longitude  of  about  70°  east,  it  suddenly  turns  toward  the  north 

forming  a  marked  indentation  as  high  as  latitude  80° ;  then,  coming  again  to  the 

-southeast  until  it  reaches  Cherle  Island,  it  continues  on  with  a  varyhig  line  to 

.     "le  unexplored  regions  north  of  Nova  Zembla. 

'>  This  indentation  or  sinuosity,  best  known  as  the  old  "Fishing  Bight"  of  the 
Oreenlaiid  Seas,  is  undoubtedly  due  to  lie  thermal  Influences  of  the  Gulf  Stream 
We  know  that  the  coasts  of  Nova  Zembla  feel  the  influences  of  its  waters :  iind 
Feterroann,  ami  many  others,  guided  by  the  projected  curves  of  Dove,  suppose 
that  us  heated  current  is  deflected  by  that  peninsula,  so  as  to  impress  the  polar 
ice  to  a  grpater  degree  of  northing  than  on  any  other  part  of  our  globe 

It  would  be  important  to  the  objects  of  my  communication,  that  I  should  trace 
this  ice  throughout  its  entire  extent ;  but  I  have  not  the  means  of  doing  so  with 
exactness.  Dafentz,  in  1596,  was  arrested  by  ice  in  latitude  77°  26'.  upon  the 
meridian  of  70°  east.  Pront-schitsehelTmet  the  same  rebuITat  the  same  height 
thirty  degrees  further  west  (100°  east).  Anjou,  Matieuschin,  and  Wrangell 
found  It  in  a  varying  belt  along  the  Asiatic  coast,  at  furthest  but  fifty  mUes  in 

The  enterprise  of  our  American  whalers  has  also  traced  this  ice  across  Beh- 
nng  8  Straits,  as  high  as  latitude  72°  40' ;  and  it  is  probable  that  Herald  Island 
in  latitude  71°  17',  is  a  part  of  a  great  island  chain,  continued  from  Cape  Yacan 
to  Banks  Land  and  the  Parry  Islands;  an  archipelago  whose  northern  faces 
are  jtt  unexplored,  but  which  undoubtedly  serves  as  a  cluster  (if  points  of  ice- 
cementation,  and  abounds  more  or  less  with  polar  ice  at  all  seasons  of  the  year 
We  have  now  followed,  throughout  its  entire  circuit,  this  immense  investing 
body.  The  circumpolar  ice,  as  I  will  venture  to  name  it,  may  be  said  to  bound 
an  imperfect  circle  of  6000  miles  in  circumference  with  a  rude  diameter  of 
2000  miles,  and  an  area,  if  we  admit  its  continuity  to  the  pole,  one  third  larger 
than  the  continent  of  Europe.  """  mrgtr 

But  theory  has  determined  that  this  great  surface  is  not  continuous  It  is  an 
annulus,  a  ring  surrounding  an  area  of  open  water— the  Polynya,  or  Iceless  Sea 
Polynya  is  a  Russian  word,  signifying  an  open  space ;  and  it  is  used  by  the 
Siberians  to  indicate  the  occasional  vacancies  which  occur  in  a  frozen  watei 
surface.  Although  such  a  vacancy  as  apphed  to  a  polar  sea  is  generaUy  recoe- 
nized  t<»  exist,  it  is  right  for  me  to  state  that  this  opinion  is  not  based  upon  the 
results  of  exploration.  It  it  due  rather  to  the  weU-elaborated  inductions  of  Sa- 
bine and  Bergl,aus,  and  especially  of  our  accomplished  American  hydrogranher 
Lieutenant  Maury.  The  observations  of  Wrangell  and  Penny,  and  stm  more 
lately  of  Captain  Ipglefield,  although  strongly  confirmatory,  were  limited  to  a 
range  of  vision  in  no  instance  exceeding  fifty  miles,  and  were  subject  to  all  the 
deception?  of  distance.  As,  however,  the  arguments  in  favor  of  the  existence 
of  such  a  sea  are  of.the  highest  interest  to  future  geographical  research,  and,  so 
lar  as  l  am  aware,  have  never  yet  been  grouped  together,  I  shall  take  the  lib 
erty  of  presenting  them  to  the  society. 

The  North  Polar  Ocean  is  a  great  mediterranean,  draining  the  northern  slopes 
of  three  continents,  and  receiving  the  waters  of  an  area  of  8,761,270  square 
miles.    Indeed,  the  river  systems  of  the  Arctic  Sea  exceed  those  of  the  Atlantic 


,/ 


N< 


POLAR    SEA. 


545 


w2.rat!lTr  °^*'°"««'»""»  »««•  ^i'Jed  by  the  diminished  intensity  and  the 
Wvdim^^l  .1  ™^'  '""^''"^  '^^  atmospheric  precipitation,  and  proba- 

bly dimmish  the  compensatmg  evaporatioo.  Yet  this  position  calls  for  further 
mvest.gat.on  to  establish  it  absolutely  ;  for  recent  experiments  show thafeven 
m  the  dark  hours  of  winter,  and  at  temperatures  of  fiay  degrees  below  zero 
evaporation  goes  on  at  a  rapid  rate.  That  it  holds,  however,  in  genLl  ter^I' 
«  evident  from  the  inferior  specific  gravity  of  the  A;ctic  waters     S  aS 

,    (10265)  mdicates  about  3.60  per  cent,  of  saline  matter..  ^ 

The  atmospheric  preisipitation  extending  to  the  adjacent  land  slopes,  thi  melt- 
ing of  the  s^ows  and  accumulated  glacial  ftiateriaUnd  the  floods  of  the\reat 
Siberian  rivers,  are  sufficient  to  account  for  this  f 

harinrUetTnrt°'"T''' ''  ''  '"'""'  '*"'*  ""^  ^"^^'"'^S*'''  ^^^'"  ^"«' 
have  an  outlet,  and  its  contents  a  movemejit  independent  of  the  faws  of  cur- 
rents generally  operative,  wMch  would  determine  them  toward  the  equator. 

BehiL^ITr!',  ""^f  ""•""*=«  .*°  «"'»  ^Sres.  filom  the  polar  basin  are  but  three ; 
Behring  s  Straits,  the  estuaries  of  Hudson's  jind  Baffin's  Bays,  and  the  inte.va^ 

tendTe^     fn'f  H  '  '"'  f  "'''^'  "•""  '""^  ^'1^"^''' «--'  •'"-"  -  the  Sn 
1«  snrL«  .         .'"*    ^i'""''  *'  •'  P'-°''»We,lfix,m  imperfect  observations,  that 

Lour  NPittr'.r  "  ^""'"y^^^ing  f'""™  one  to  two  and  a  half  knots  an 
hour.  Neither  the  soundings  nor  the  diameter  of  this  strait  indicate  any  very 
large  deep-sea  discharge  in  the  other  direction.  J-    «=r, 

fplnr  n  "'^  ?'?."•  ""*  ^'^'^'""^  **'°  ^^'^'^°' ''"''«°'' »"«  been  traced  by  Pro- 
fesso  Dove  to  the  uppef  regions  of  Nova  Zembla;  so  that  Baffin's  Bay,  and 
th^  Hudson,  and  Greenland  Seas,  constitute  the  only  uniform  outlet  to  thelK,lar 

It  is  by  these  avenues,  then,  that  the  enormous  masses  of  J^ng  ice  with 
the  (teeply-uninersed  bergs,  and  the  still  deeper  belt  of  colder  JPfare  convey- 
tSZ  ,^"'^''!y'r  '^'  «""•  Sfean..  whose  waters  it  is  es'tilated  at  least 
ufTr '"  KK  •  !^  ^"'*  submerged  icy  river  flows  southward  to  the  regions 
of  the  Caribbean.  The  ^recentMabors  of  the  United  States  Coast  Survey  and 
Nautical  Observatory  h^ve,  as  the  society  is  aware,  developed  and  confin^ed 
he  previously-broached  idea  of  a  compensating  system  of'^lar  and  S 
cun^nts ;  and  we  are  prepared  to  consider  these  colder  streams  as  equahzers 
to  the  heated  areas  of  the  tropical  latitudes,  and  analogous  in  cause  and  eflect 
to  the  recognized  course  of  the  atmospheric  currents 

In  fact,  Dove,  Berghaus,  and  Petermann,  three  authorities  entitled  to  the  high- 
est  respect,  recognize  for  the  Arctic  Ocean  a  system  of  revolving  currents 
whose  direction  during  summer  is  from  north  to  south,  and  during  winter  the 
reverse  or  from  the  south  to  the  north.  The  isotherms  of  Lieutenant  Mau,^ 
projected  by  Professor  Flye)  point  clearly  to  the  same  interesting  result  Co2 
^Tt  ^S^h!,*^*  """^^'nen's  of  discharge  and  supply  with  the  surface  ac 
tions,  we  find  during  the  summer  months  a  movement  along  the  northern  coasts 
of  Russia  clearly  from  east  to  west,  from  Nova  Zembla  westwardly  and  south- 
westwardly  to  Spitsbergen,  wheje,  after  an  obscure  bifurcation,  it  Is  met  by  a 
great  drift  from  the  north,  and  carried  along  the  coast  of  Greenland,  in  a  large 
body  known  as  the  East  Greenland  current.  The  observations  collected  by 
Lieutenant  Gommandipg  De  Haten  sBdwthat  tfifsstrtam  is  deflected  arouiid"" 


646 


ACeESS     TO    A 


Cape  Farewell,  passing  up  the  Greenland  coast  to  latitude  74°  76' ;  where,  after 
coming  to  the  western  side  of  the  bay,  it  passes  along  the  eastern  coast  of 
America,  evenfi^  the  Capes  of  Florida.  During  tiie  winter,  when  the  great 
rivers  of  Siberia  and  America  lose  their  volume  by  the  action  of  the  frost,  a  cur- 
rent has  been  noted  from  the  Faroe  Islands,  north  and  east,  along  the  Asiatic 
coast,  toward  Behring's  Straits.  And  then  it  is  that  the  great  surface  ice,  form- 
ed upon  the  coasts  of  Asia,  gives  place  to  a  warmer  stream,  and  the  heated 
waters  of  the  Gulf  current  bathe  and  temper  the  line  of  the  Siberian  coast. 

All  these  facts  go  to  prove  that  the  polar  basin  is  not  only  the  seat  of  an  act- 
ive  supply  and  discharge,  but  of  an  intestine  circulation  independent  of  either; 
while  the  intercommunication  of  the  whales  (B.  mysticeltis),  between  the  Atlan- 
tic and  Pacipc,  as  shown  by  Maury,  proves  directly  that  the  two  oceans  are 
united. 

Admitting  the  important  fact  of  a  moving,  open  sea,  the  recognized  equaliza- 
tion of  temperatures  attending  upon  lar^e  water  masses  follows  of  course. 
But  is  the  Arctic  Sea,  in  fact,  an  unvaried  expanse  of  water  i.  For  if  it  be  not, 
the  excessive  radiation  and  other  disturbing  influences'of  land  upon  general 
temperature  are  well  known.  It  is,  I  think,  an  opeTi  sea.  And  an  argument 
may  be  deduced  for  this  belief  from  the  icebergs.  .  The  iceberg  is  an  offcast 
from  the  polar  glacier,  and  needs  land  as  an  essential  element  in  its  production 
—as  much  so  as  a  ship  the  dock-yard  on  which  she  is  built,  and  frojji  which  she 
18  launched.  From  the  excessive  submergence  of  these  great  detached  masses, 
they  may  be  taken  as  reliable  indices  of  the  deep-sea  currents,  while  their  size 
is  such  that  they  often  reach  the  latitudes  of  the  temperate  zone  before  theii 
dissolution.  Now  it  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  these  huge  ice  hulks  are  con- 
fined to  the  Greenland,  Spitzbergen,  and  Baffin  Seas.  Throughout  the  cntiru 
circuit  of  the  Polar  Ocean,  almost  seven  thousand  miles  of  circumscribing  coast 
we  have  but  forty  degrees  which  is  ever  seen  to  abound  in  them. 

A  second  argument,  bearing  upon  this,  is  founc],  in  the  fact  that  a  large  area 
of  open  water  exists,  between  the  iflonths  of  June  and  Octol)er,  in  the  upper 
parts  of  Baffin's  Bay.  This  mediterranean  Polynya  is  called  by  the  whalers 
the  North  Water.  After  working  through  the  clogging  ice  of  the  intermediate 
drift,  you  pass  suddenly  into  an  open  sea,  washing  the  most  northern  known 
shores  of  our  continent,  and  covering  an  area  of  90,000  square  miles. 

The  iceless  interval  is  evidently  caused  by  the  drift  having  traveled  to  the 
south  without  being  re-enforced  by  fresh  supplies  of  ice ;  and  the  latest  explora- 
tions from  the  upper  waters  of  this  bay  speak  of  avenues  thirty-six  miles  wide 
extending  to  the  north  and  east,  and  free. 

The  temperature  of  this  water  is  sometimes  12°  above  the  freezing  point ; 
and  the  open  bays  or  sinuosities,  which  often  indent  the  Spitzbergen  ice  as  high 
as  81°  north  latitude,  have  been  observed  to  give  a  eea-water  temperature  as 
high  as  38°  and  40°,  while  the  atmosphere  indicates  but  16°  above  zero. 

But,  besides  these,  we  have  arguments  growing  out  of  the  received  theories 
of  the  distribution  of  temperature  upon  the  surface  of  the  earth. 
The  actual  distribution  of  heat  in  this  shut-out  region  can  only  b6  inferred. 
The  system  of  isothermals,  projected  by  Humboldt  upon  positive  data,  ceased 
at  32°  ;  and  the  vifews  of  Sir  John  Leslie  (based  upon  Mayer's  theorem),  that 
the  north  pole  was  the  coldest  point  in  the  Arctic'regions,  have,  as  the  members 
are  aware,  since  been  disproved. : . 


.'iiiit.-,  .^v.:v.»;.. 


.    b 


POLAR    SEA. 


547 


,  Sir  David  Brewster,  by  a  combination  of  the  ob^ervatiort*  of  Scoresby, 
Gieseke,  an<l  Parry,  determined  the  existence  of  two  poles  of  cold,  one  for 
either  hemisphere,  and  both  holding  a  fijfed  relation  to  the  magnetic  poles. 
These  two  seats  of  maximum  cold  are  situated  respectively  in  Asia  and  Amer- 
ica, in  longitudes  100°  west  and  95°  east,  and  on  the  parallel  of  80°.  They  differ 
about  five  degrees  in  their  mean  annual  lomperature ;  the  American,  which  is 
the  lower,  giving  threff  degrees  and  a  half  bel^  zero.  The  isothermals  sur- 
round  these  two  points,  in  a  system  of  returning  curves  yet  to  be  confirmed  by 
observation;  but  the  inference  which!  presicnt  to  you,  without  comment  or 
opinion,  is,  that  to  the  north  of  80°,  and  at  any  ppipts  intermediate  between 
these  American  and  Siberian  centres  of  intensity  >lie  clinjate'must  be  milder, 
or,  more  properly  speaking, the  mean  annual  temperature  must  be  more  elevated! 
Petcrmann,  taking  as  a  basis  the  data  of  Professor  Dove,  deduces  a  movable 
pole  of  cold,  which  in  January  is  found  in  i  line  from  Melville  Island  to  the  River 
Lena,  and,  gradually  advancing  with  the  season  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  recedes 
with  the  fall  and  winter  to  its  foriner  position.  Such  a  nlQ^vement  is  clearly 
referable  to  the  summer  land  currents  with  their  freight  of  polar  ice. 

With  the  consolidation  of  winter,  the  ice  reeedrs,  aifd'ttie  Gulf  19Efeam  WTeiS 
more  perc(y)tibly  into  tlie  far  north.  The  mean  temperature  of  the  northeast 
coast  of  Siberia  is  forty  or  fitty  degrees  colder  than  that  of  the  western  shores 
of  Nova  Zembla,  while  in  July  it  is  twenty  degrees  higher.  • 

But  if  any  point  between  75°  and  80°  north  latitude,  a  range  sufficiently  wide 
tojnclude  all  the  theories,  be  regarded  as  the  seat  of  the  greatest  intensity  of 
cold,  we  may,  perhaps,  infer  the  state  *f  the  Polar  Sea  from  the  known  temper- 
atures of  other  regions,  equally  distant  with  it  from  this  supposed  centre ; 
though,  as  the  lines  of  latitude  do  not  correspond  with  those  of  temperature, 
this  must  be  done  with  caution.  ^ 

I  have  been  interested  for  some  time  in  examining  this  class  of  deflections ; 
and  I  find  that  they  point  to  some  interesting  conclusions  as  to  the  fluidUy-of 
the  region  about  tl^  pole,  and  its  attendant  mildness  of  weather. 

Thus,  for  in3ta|mte  Cherie  Islancl,  surrounded  by  moving  waters,  but  iii  a 
higher  latitude  th||^lville  Island,  the  seat  of  the  greatest  observed  mean  an- 
nual cold,  the  temperature  was  found  so  mild  throughout  the  entire  Arctic  win- 
ter, ^hat  rain  fell  there  upon  Christmas-day. 

Barents,  a  most  honest  and  reliable  authority,  speaks  of  the  increasing  warmth 
as  he  left  the  land  to  the  north  of  77°.  Tlie  whalers  north  of  Spitzbergen  con- 
firm the  saying  of  the  early  Dutch,  that  the  "  Fisherman's  Bight"  is  as  pleasant 
as  the  seS  of  Amsterdam. 
EgedesminJe  and  Rittenback,  two  little  Danish  and  Esquimaux  settlements 
,  on.  the  west  coast  of  Greenland,  in  latitude  70°,  w  ah  a  climate  influenced  by 
adjacent  land  masses,  but  nevertheless  not  completely,  ice-bound,  are  in  the 
isothermal  curve  (summer  curve)  of  50°,  giving  us  a  vegetation  of  coarse  grass- 
es, and  a  few  crucifers.  , 

In  West  La|\Iand,  as  highas  70°,  barley  has  been,  and  I  believe  is  still  grown ; 
though  here  is  its  highest  northern  limit.    If  80°  be  our  centre  of  maximum 
cold,  the  pole,  at  96°,  ia  at  the  same  distance  from  it  as  this  West  Lapland 
^imit  of  the  growth  of  barley ! 

^      But  there  are  other  arguments  based  upon  known  facts,  and  facts  popularly 
^nrecogniwd,  bearinf  upois  tM  tfieorjr  of  an  opn  seal    ~    v 


:  />'. 


» 


A 


548 


ACCESS    TO   Ji 


Tub  miobations  or  iNiHAL  life.  At  the  utmost  limits  of  northern  travel  at- 
tainpd  hy  man,  hordes  of  animals  of  various  kinfls  have  been  observed  to  be 
travfhng  still  further.  ^ 

The  Arctic  zone,  though  not.  rich  in  ^cies,  is  teeming  with  individual  life, 
and  is  tlT6  home  of  some  of  the  most  numerous  families  known  to  the  ti^uralist. 
Among  birds,  the  swimmers,  drawing  their  subsistence  from  open  watrr,  ^ro 
predominant ;  the  great  families  of  ducks,  Auki,  and  procellarine  birds  (Analina, 
Alcintt,  and  ProttUarinct),  throng  the  seas  and  passages  of  the  farliorth,  and 
even  incubate  in  regiond1)f  unknown  nOrthemness.  i  The  eider  duck  liap  been 
traced  to  breeding  grounds  as  high  as  78°  in  Bafflnl's  Day,  and  in  conjunction 
with  the  brent  goose,  seen  by  us  in  Wellington  Change,  and  the  loon  and  liltte 
auk,  pass  in  great  flights  to  the  northern  waters  beyond.  The  mammals  of  the 
sea— the  huge  cejacea,  in  the  thtee  great  families,  Beltnida,  Delphinida,  and 
Phocida,  represented  by  the  whales,  the  narwhal  and  the  seal,  as  well  as  thaf 
■Strange  marine  pachyderm,  the  tusky  walrus,  all  pass  in  -tchooh  toward  the 
northern  waters.  I  have  seen  the  white  whale  {Dejphinopterus  beluga)  passing 
up  Wellington  Channel  to  the  north  for  nearly  four  successive  days,  and  that 
too  while  all  around  us  w{is  a  sea  of  brokenHce. 

So  with  the  quadrupeds  of  this  region.  The  equatorial  range  of  the  polar 
bear  (U.  maritimut)  is  misconceived  by  our' geographical  zoologists.  It  is  fur- 
ther to  the  north  than  we  have  yet  reached ;  and  this  powerful  beast  informs 
us  of  the  character  of  the  accompanying  hfe,  upon  which  he  preys. 

The  ruminating'aninials,  whose  food  must  be  a  vegetation,  obey  the  same  im- 
pulse or  instinct  of  far  northern  travel.  The  reindeer  (Cmus  larandiu),  al- 
though proved  by  my  friend,  Lieutenant  M'Clintock,  to  winteY  soraetimes^in  the 
Parry'group,  outside  of  the  zone  of  woods,  comes  down  from  the  north  in  herds 
as  startling  as  those  described  by  the  Siberian  travelers,  a  "moving  frfrest  of 
antlers." ,  * 

The  whalers  of  North  Baffin's  Bay,  as  high  as  75°,  shoot  tiem  in  numbers, 
and  the  Esquimaux  of  Whale  Sound,  77°,  are  clothed  with  their  furS.  Five 
thousand Bkins  are  sent  to  Denmarjcjrora  Egedesminde  and  HolsteiiiBerg  alone. 
Before  passing  frorn  \his  branch  of  my  subject,  I  must  mention,  also,  that  the 
POLAR  DBiFT-icB  comes  fir^t  from  the  north.  The  breaking  up,  the-  thaw  of  the 
iceiplain,  does  not  continence  in  our  so-called  warmer  south,  but  in  regions  \o 
fhe  north  of  those  yei  attained.  Wrangell  spejiks  of  this,  on  the  Asiatic  Seas, 
Parry  aboVe  Spitzbergen ;  and  my  friend.  Captain  Penny,  shrewd,  bold,  and  ad- 
venturous, confirms  it  in  his  experience  of  Wellington  Sound. 

In  addition  to  all  this,  we  have  the  objkbvations  op  actual  travel  ;  although 
this,  confirmatory  as  it  is,  must,  like  the  theoretical  views,  be  received  with  cau- 
tion. Darentz  saw  an  opening  water  beyond  the  northernmost  point  of  Europe ; 
Anjou  the  same  beyond  the  Siberian  Bear  Islands ;  and  A^^ngell,  in  a  sledg^ 
journey  from  the  mouth  of  the  Koijrma,  speaks  of  a  "  vast  ^imitable  ocean," 
illimitable  to  mortal  vision.  ^  ' 

To  penetrate  this  icy  annulus,  to  m^ke  the  "  northwest  p&ssage"  the  north- 
rast  passage  to  reach  the  pole,  have  been  favored  dreams  since  the  early  days 
of  ocean  navigatidn.  Yet  up  to  this  moment  complete  failure  has  attended  ^ 
every  attempt.  One  voyager.  William  Scorcsby,  known  to  the  scientific  world 
for  the  range  and  exactness  of  his  observation,  passed  beyond  the  latitude  of 
6 1  °  30'.    But  after  discarding  the  apocryphal  voyages  of  the  early  Dutch,  whose 


/ 


POLAR     SEA. 


519 


N 


imperfect  nautical  observiTtion  rendered  entirely  unrclmbic  their  assertions  of' 
•  -  Jatiludes;  we  have  the  names  of  hut  two  who  may  be  said  to  have  attiunea 
the  parallel  of  88° ;.  Heindrich  Hudson  in  1007,  and  Edward  Parry  in  our  own 
times. 

,  This  latter'navigatJ^t  that  tfio  sea,  ice-dogged  with  ils  floatta^masHcs, 
was  no^tho  element  for  successful  travel,  and  with  a  (iarinK^unequalcd,  1  (liink, 
Jn  the  history  oijpers^al  enterprise,  determined  to  cross  the  ico  upon  shMlges 
y  The  spot  he  selected  w^north  of  Spitzbergon,  a  gfoup  of  rocks  callod  the 
Seven  Islands,  the  most  northern  known  land  upon  our  globe.     With  indomita- 
ble resolution  fib  gained  within  four  hundred  and  thirty-five  miles  of  his  !uy». 
terious  goal,  and  then,  unabloto  stem  the  rapid  drift  to  the  southward,  was  ' 
^  forced  to-ireturn. 

But  the  question  of  access  to  the  Arctic  pole— the  penetration  to  this  Sk 

sea— is  now  brought  again  before  us,  not  as  in  the  days  of  Hudson,  and  ScinTs- 

by,  and  Parry,  a  curious  problem  for  scientific  inquiry,  but  as  an  object  claiming 

■     philanthropic  effort,  and  appealing  tluft  to  the  sympathies  of  the  whole  eivili/.td 

.world— the  rescue  of  Sir  John  Franklin  and  his  followers.  '        « 

The  recent  discoveries  by  the  united  squadrons  of  Do  Haven  and  Penny,  of 
Franklm's  first  winter  quarfrrs  at  the  niRuth  of  Wellington  ChanneC  uidi'd  by 
the  complctej)roof8  since  obtained  that  he  did' not  proceed  to  the  cast  or  wvM, 
render  it  beyond  conjecture  certain  that  he  passed  up  Wellington  Chiiiiiitl  to 
the  nflrth. 

Here  we  have  lost  him ;  and,%ave  the  hinely  records  upoii  the  toitib-stonog 
of  his  dead,  for  seven  years  he  has  been  lost  to  the  world.  To  assign  his  exact 
position  is  impossible  :  wrf  only  know  that  he  has  traveled  up  this  land-locltod 
channel,  seeking  the  objects  of^his  enter^jrise  Vb  itie  north  and  west.'  That 
some  of  his  party  are  yet  in  existence,  this  is  not  the  place  to  argue.  ;,et  the 
queBtion«rest  upon  the  opinions  of  those  who,  having  visited  this  regioti,  are  at 
Ijjrfst  bettor  qualified  to  judge  of  its  resources  than  those  who  have  formed  their 
opinions  by  the  fireside.  '*  .  - 

The  journeys  of  Penny,  Goodsir,  Manson,  and  Sutherland  have  shown  this 
tract  to  be  tf  tortuous  estuary,  a  highway  for  the  polar  ice-drift,  and  interspersed 
with  islands  as  high  as  latitude  77° ;  beyond  which  they  could  not  see.  It  is 
up  this  channel  that  the  searching  squadron  of  Sir  Edward  Belcher  has  now 
disappeared,  followed  by  the  anxious  wishes  of  those  who  look  to  it  as  the  final 
nope  of  rescue.  I  regret  to  say,  that  after  considering  carefitfy  the  prospects 
of  this  squadron,  I  hjve  to  confess  that  I  am  far  from  sanguinjb  a«  to  its  sue- 
cess.  It  must  Ife  remembered  that  Wellington  Channel  is  all  that  has  just  been 
stated,  tortuous,  studded  jvith  islands,  and  a  thordSghfare  for  the  northern  Ice ; 
and  the  open  water  stghted  by  Captain  Penny  is  not  to  be  relied  on,  either  as 
extending  very  far,  or  as  more  than  temporarily  unobstructed.  If  we  look  up 
from  the  highland^  of  Beechy  Head,  fifty  miles  Of  apparently  open  navigation 
js  all  that  we  cart  assert  certainly  to  have  been  attained  by  the-  seirohing  ve». 
•sels,  and  to  reaofi  the  present  known  limits  of  the  sound  would  require  a  prog." 
ress  in  a  direct  line  on  thei^part  of  at^«a8t'  one  hundr^  and  thirty  miles, 
f  :  Thfey  left,"  moreover,  on  the  fifth  of  August;  and  ^rly  as  this  is  there  con- 
sidered,  and  open  as  was  the  season,  they  have  but  forty  days  before  winter 
oemenU  the  sea,  or  renders  navi^itton  impossible  by  clogging  the"  running  gear. 
By  a  fortunate  concurrence  of  cjrcumstapces.  the  squadron  of  Sir  Fdwan} 


"<> 


w' 


.^,jy-  . 


55a 


ACCESS     TO    A 


-;% 


Belcher  may  do  every  thing ;  but  I  must  repeat  that  I  am  far  from  sanguine  aa 
to  their  success.    The  Chances  are  against  their  reaching  the  open  sea 

It  IS  to  announce,  theh,  another  plan  of  search  that  I  am  now  before  you- 
and  as  the  access  to  the  open  sea  forms  its  characteristic  feature,  liM^e  given 
you  the  precedmg  outline  of  the  physical  characteristics  of  the  reglSTln  order 
,     to  enable  you  to  weigh  property  its  merits  and  demerits. 

It  is  in  recognition  of  the  important  office  which  American  geographers  may 
perlorm  toward  promoting  ite  utilityVnd  success,  that  I  have  made  the  society 
the  first  recipient  of  the  detaUs  and  outlines  of  my  plan.  ' 

Henry  Grinnell,  the  first  president  and  now  a  Vice-president  of  this  society 
has  dong  me  the  honor  of  placing  his  vessel,  the  Advance,  afmy  disposition; 
and  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  has  assigned  me  to  "special  duty"  for  the  con- 
duct  of  the  expedition. 

My  plan  of  search  is  based  upon  the  probable  extension  of  the  land  masses 
of  Greenland  to  the  far  north-a  view  yet  to  be  verified  by  travel,  but  sustained 
by  the  analogies  of  physical  geography.  Greenland,  though  looked  upon  by 
Gieseke  as  a  congeries  of  islands  cemftited  by  interior  glaciers,  is,  in  fact  a 
peninsula,  and  foUows  in  its  formation  the  general  laws  which  have  been  rec- 
ognized since  the  days  of  Forster  as  belonging  to  peninsulas  with  a  southern 
trend  Its  abrupt,  truncated  termination  at  Staaten-Hook  is  as  marked  as  that 
which  IS  found  at  the  Capes  Good  Hope  and  Horn  of  the  two  great  conti- 
nents,  the  Comorin  of  Peninsular  India,  Cape  South  East  of  AustraUa,  or  the 
Gibraltar  of  Southern  Spain.  < 

Analogies  of  general  contour,  which  also  liken  it  to  southern  peninsulas,  are 
even  more  striking.  The  island  groups,  for  instance,  seen  to  the  east  of  these 
souther^n  points,  answering  to  the  Falkland  Islands,  Madagascar,  Ceylon,  New 
Zealand,  the  Bahamas  of  Florida,  and  the  Balearics  of  the  coast  of  Spain  are 
represented  by  Iceland  off  thejjoast  of  Greenland.  It  has  been  observed  that 
all  great  peninsulas,  too,  have  an  excavation  or  bend  inward  on  their  western 
side,  a  "concave  inflection"  toward  the  interior.  Thus,  South  America  be- 
tween Lima  and  Valdavia,  Africa  in  the  Gulf  of  Guinea,  India  in  Cambaye,  and 
Austraha  in  the  Bay  of  Nuyts,  are  followed  by  Greenland  in  the  great  excava- 
tion  of  Disco.  Analogies  of  the  same  sort  may  offer  when  we  consider  those 
mfre  important  features  of  relief  so  popularly  yet  so  profoundly  treated  by  Pro- 
fessor Guyot. 

Greenland  is  lined  by  a  couple  of  lateral  ranges,  metamorphic  in  structure 
and  expanding  in  a  double  axis  to  the  N.N.W.  and  N.N.E.  They  present  strik 
ing  resemblances  to  the  Ghauts  of  India,  being  broken  by  the  same  great  injec 
tions  of  green-stone,  and  walling  in  a  plateau  region  where  glacial  accumula- 
tions  correspond  to  those  ofthe  Hindostan  plains. 

The  culmination  of  these  peaks  in  series  indicates  strongly  their  extension  - 
to  a  region  far  to  the  north.    Thus  from  the  South  Cape  o«Jrccnlan^to  Disco 
Bay.  in  lat.  70°.  the  peaks  vary  in  height  from  800  to  3200  feet.    Those  of 
Proven,  lat.  71°,  are  2300,  and  those  observed  by  me  in  lat.  76°  10',  gave  sex- 
tant  altitudes  of  1360  feet,  with  interior  summits  at  least  one  third  higher. 

The  same  continued  elevation  is  observed  by  the  whalers  as  high  as  TV,  and 
Scoresby  noted  nearly  corresponding  elevations  on  the  eastern  coasts,  in  lat 
73°.  The  coast  aeen  by  Inglefield,  to  the  north  of  78°,  was  high  and  com. 
ntaiiding. 


POLAR     SEA. 


551 


Fram  these  alternating  altitudes,  pontinued  throughout  a  meridian  line  of 
nearly  elevien  hundred  geographical  miles,  I  infer  that  this  chain  follow*  the 
nearly  universal  law  of  a  gradual  subsidence,  and  that  Greenland  is  continued 
further  to  the  north  than  any  other  known  land.  In  the  ofd  continents  the  laud 
slopes  toward  the  Arctic  Sea ;  but  although  in  the  New  World  the  descent  ol 
the  land  g<!nerally  is  to  the  east,  the  law  of  the  gradual  decline  of  meridional 
chains  is  universal. 

Believing,  then,  in  such  an  extension  of  Greenland,  and  feeling  that  the  search 
for  Sir  John  Franklin  is  best  promoted  by  a  course  which  will  lead  directly  to 
the  open  sea— feeling,  too,  that  the  approxunation  of  the  meri'dians  would  make 
access  to  the  west  as  easy  from  Northern  Greenland  as  from  Wellington  Chan- 
nel, and  access  to  the  eastJfatniore  easy— feehng,  too,  that  the  highest  protrud- 
ing headland  will  be  mo^^Iy  to  aflbrd  some  trace  of  the  lost  party,  I  am 
led  to  propose  and  attempt "TRis  line  of  search. 

Admitting  such  an  extension  of  the  land  masses  of  Greenland  to  the  north, 
we  have  the  following  indncements  for  exploration  and  research  : 

1.  Terra  firma  as  the  basis  of  our  operations,  obviating  the  capricious  char- 
acter of  ice  travel. 

2.  A  due  northern  line,  which,  throwing'  aside  the  influences  of  terrestrial 
radiation,  would  lead  soonest  to  the  open  sea,  should  such  exist.      % 

3.  The  benefit  of  the  fan-like  abutment  of  land,  on  tiie  north  face  of  Green- 
land, to  check  the  ice  in  the  course  of  its  southern  or  equatorial  drift,  thus  ob- 
viating the  great  drawback  of  Parry  in  his  attempts  to  reach  the  pole  by  the 
Spitzbergen  Sea. 

4.  Animal  life  to  sustain  traveling  parties.  ^ 

5.  The  co-operation  of  the  Esquimaux ;  settlements  of  these  people  having 
been  found  as  high  as  Wlmlo  Sound,  and  probably  extending  still  further  along 
the  const. 

The  point  I  would  endeavor  to  attain  would  be  the  highest  attainable  seats 
of  Baflin's  Bay,  from  the  sound  known  as  Smitli's  Sound,  and  advocated  by 
Baron  Wrangell  as  the  most  eligible  site  for  reaching  the  north  pole. 

As  a  point  of  departure  it  is  two  hundred  and  twenty  miles  to  the  north  of 
Beeohy  Island,  the  starting-jwint  of  Sir  Edward  Belcher,  and  seventy  miles 
north  of  the  utmost  limits  seen  or  recorded  in  Wellington  Channel. 

The  party  should  consist  of  some  thirty  men,  with  a  couple  of  launches, 
sledges,  dogs,  and  gutta  percha  boats.  The  provisions  to  be  pemniican,  a  prep- 
aration of  dried  meat,  packed  in  cases  impregnable  to  the  assaults  of  the  Polar 
oear. 

We  shall  leave  the  United  States  in  time  to  reach  the  bay  at  the  earliest 
season'  of  navigation.  The  brig  furnished  by  Mr.  Grinnell  for  this  purpose  is 
lidmirably  strengthened  and  fully  equipped  to  meet  the  peculiar  trials  of  the 
service.  After  reaching  the  settlement  of  Uppernavik,  we  take  in  a  supply  of 
Esquimaux  dogs,  ahd  a  few  picked  men  to  take  charge  of  the  sledges. 

We  then  enter  the  ico  of  Melville  Bay,  and,  if  successful  in  penetrating  it, 
hasten  to  Smith's  Sound,  forcing  our  vessel  to  the  utmost  navigable  point,  and 
there  securing  her  for  the  winter.  The  operations  of  search,  however,  are  not 
to  be  sispcnded.  Active  exercise  is  the  best  safeguard  against  the  scurvy ; 
and  although  the  darkness  of  winter  will  not  be  in  our  favor,  I  am  convinced 


0 


<H'^' 


-=ttat,  wUh  the  tsxcepRon,  jp«CTteiimrof  the 


w.^V,™*.*.-^'*-**  '•^..-^ 


.'552 


ACCESS    TO    A    POLAR   SEA. 


a  basis  of  land  operations     Ami  th„  f    *"  «'''«<'ated  this  very  sound  as 

commanding  L.S^ZZn>tts^"Z".T  'T'^  *""  "^^  "^""^  ^^«""«"y. 
Should  no  lounger  LrlltZJZrZT'  ^'""^  '""'  '"^  ^"^^  ""-^  ^-^- 

India-n,bbercfoth.ofTne:ratn  wnrared^^r^^^  """«"'*-'  °' 

main  dependence  will  be  the  snow  hTdse  of  Sb  F.n  °"  T*""^  •>""  *'>» 

credible,  in  the  face  of  what  obstalles  to  wh«t     f '''"""«"''•    ^'  «  "Iniost  in- 

^arty  can  advance     The  relaUve  imn:,^!^    7'  '  ^*'"-«'«»"i''«d  "'odse 

calculated,  and  the  sysL  of  adv3  de^tf  r*^  °""''  °'"^''«''' ''""  "« 
rably.  aavanced  dep6ts  of  provuions  organized  admi- 

Alcohfll  or  tallow  is  the  onlv  fupl  ■  anH  tK^  „  »■ 
is  more  for  thawing  the  snow  for  k-tl*';^^^^^^^  ^^^^  «PP"»»--  ^^-^ 
ried  in  a  little  bag.    Lieutenant  M^Pl^^r^l     r  "«  '^'  "°"  "«  «="• 

tion.  traveled  thus  eigh  ^"5  i^^le^tTeVn  '  ?"™'"''''  ^"^""'«  ^^P^*''" 
tion  equaled  several  thousand  and  B^lw""''  7"  T'''^'  °'''"'  "^P^'^i' 
in  seventy.fourdays.andr  ;rat:il^^^^^^^^         ^^  '^°^«  ^^^  ">"« 

nedy"wtfer;Lt?„:^^^^^^^^^  "^"^  friend. Mr.Ken. 

turning  upon  his  track  to  avaJ  t^Jle^ofi^^^^^^^^^ 


* 

1 

i 
( 

^ 

.^ 

THE   END. 

} 

■A 

* 

--y-   ~    - 

^ 

• 

,; 

«* 


ii 


H^' 


